| Adirondacks |
Robert
Leverett |
|
Oct
10, 2006 06:57 PDT |
ENTS,
Monica and I headed to the
Adirondacks for the Columbus Day
Weekend. I was still nursing a cold, so we didn't camp. But I
was able
to check out more tree spots and completed a Rucker Index using
measurements that I'd taken in the past, ones on this trip, and
one that
Howard Stoner made. The results are as follows.
Adirondacks
White Pine 158.3 11.4 Sarnac Lake-Elders Grove
White Ash 114.4 9.0 Lake Pleasant-Lewey Lake
Hemlock 111.5
6.7 Warrensburg-Pack Forest
Red Pine 104.7 6.0 Raquette Lake-Red Pines
Sugar Maple 103.6 8.9 Lake Pleasant-Lewey Lake
Red Spruce 100.9 7.8 Warrensburg-Pack Forest
Yellow Birch 95.5 14.7 Piseco-Piseco Lake
Black Maple 82.6 6.9 Lake Pleasan-Lewey Lake
American Beech 81.2 7.0 Lake Pleasant-Lewey Lake
Balsam Fir 78 5.2 Lake Pleasant-Lewey
RHI 103.1
Note: black maple identification tentative.
Obviously, the Adirondacks
index will go up as we look more, but
the index will likely not go above 111 or 112 unless we
extensively
search the forests on the periphery of the range. I've had to
really
work to get hemlock above 110 feet. I expect that we will
eventually
break 115 on the species and maybe 120 on the ash. I suppose it
is
possible to eventually reach 113, but that is really stretching
things.
Yes, the Adirondacks is a large area - over 6,000,000 acres, but
very
large chunks don't grow tall trees.
On Monday, I
re-measured the Grandmother tree and other large
pines in Pack Forest. The numbers from the weekend and past
trips
follows.
Height Circumference DOM
150.8 13.9 09-Oct-06
144.7 11.2 09-Oct-06
144.4 9.9 21-Apr-01
143.9 8.7 21-Apr-01
143.9 8.7 21-Apr-01
143.5 11.8 09-Oct-06
142.3 11.9 23-Sep-00
141.0 12.0 09-Oct-06
138.4 10.7 27-Aug-05
134.2 13.0 27-Aug-05
133.2 11.6 23-Sep-00
132.6 11.7 23-Sep-00
131.4 12.1 09-Oct-06
130.3 10.1 09-Oct-06
126.5 11.9 09-Oct-06
126.2 12.5 09-Oct-06
124.5 11.0 09-Oct-06
I also went after the striped maple in
the Central Adirondacks Lewey
Lake area. The species is well represented there.
Circ-ft Circ-in Height
1.7 20.4 54.0
2.2 26.4 52.2
1.9 22.8 50.7
2.1 25.2 47.5
2.0 24.0 46.5
1.6 19.2 45.5
1.7 20.4 43.0
1.9 22.8 39.3
More to come on the Dacks.
Bob
Robert T. Leverett
Cofounder, Eastern Native Tree Society
|
| Re:
Adirondacks |
djluth-@pennswoods.net |
| Oct
10, 2006 15:30 PDT |
Bob,
Great work. Nice 150 class pine at the Elders Grove. The
Grandmother Pine is
sweet.
Here's some stats I collected (tallest from each species
measured) from Paul
Smith's last on 10/15/05 that might add to the Adirondack RI:
Species CBH Height
Am. larch N/A 83.2
balsam fir 4.3 89.6
Dale
|
| Re:
Adirondacks |
dbhg-@comcast.net |
| Oct
11, 2006 07:31 PDT |
Dale,
With the addition of the two species you
measured, we have the Daks up to just over 104. My original
belief was that 112 would be the top. I now believe that we'll
eventually nurse the index up to around 114. Team work is the
answer.
Bob
|
| RE:
Adirondacks |
Robert
Leverett |
| Oct
11, 2006 13:16 PDT |
Dale,
Yes, that yellow birch is a very, very special
tree. The southern
Adirondacks have some superb hardwood forests. As I think of the
possibilities, a final Rucker index of 115 seems possible, but
that is
really pushing the envelope. What often appears as tall in the
Daks is
tall by association. The canopy is 20 feet or more lower than
what I'm
accustomed to in places like MTSF. But 6,000,000 acres is a lot
of land.
Bob
|
| RE:
Adirondacks |
djluth-@pennswoods.net |
| Oct
11, 2006 13:28 PDT |
Bob,
Yes, 'tall by association' is a good point. I remember I had to
're-adjust my
scale' when I was out near Paul Smith's. I thought I was going
to break 100
for that balsam fir, but it wasn't meant to be.
That fir is taller than any I've come across so far in PA...
which is very few.
What about in MA? I don't see the species on your October 2004
MA max tree
height spreadsheet.
I think there's a larch up there that'll top 90ft. The ones I
saw were a bugger
to get to... didn't bring my waders. A 100ft class larch would
be quite
respectable for the DAKS.
Dale
|
|