Powder Mills Park, NY  
January 25, 2009

Hi Ents!

Questions: Is this area of Powder Mills Park properly called an old
growth forest area?

-The area (a hilltop) seems to be almost exclusively oak trees, with
no shrubs, grasses, ferns, and hardly any saplings or smaller trees;
is this a characteristic of old growth oak forests?
-More steep hillsides near this area also have 3 foot - 3.5 foot  diam
trees (mostly oak). Is it common not to cut  trees on steep hill
sides?
-Is it reasonable to think a 4 foot diam oak(NE side) (kind of down in
a ravine) on the opposite side of the hill from a 2 foot/171 (SW side)
ring tree will be twice as old as the 2 footer?

For pictures of the area please see;
http://www.powdermillspark.com/bigtreeareaphotos/index.html

There is a little used area a Powder Mills Park (near Rochester,NY)
which may qualify as "old growth forest". I suspect this because there
are several 4+ foot diameter oak trees as well as many 2 and 3 foot
that would likely been harvested if lumbering had occurred.

 The area is bounded on 3 sides by steep hills, and the top of the
area is  about 2 acres. The hillsides are somewhat similar and may add
a couple more acres of space to the total.

I counted the rings of a tree that fell 2 years ago near this area (on
the SW side of the hill leading up to the area). The section I counted
was about 16' above the base of the tree, about 24" diam, and had 171
rings. I think I is an oak tree because of the open pores between
rings.

Characteristics of Old-Growth:
This area has at least 7 out of 10 indicators

Forest Trees of Great Age.;  Yes, Oaks; several 4 ft diam, dozen+ 3 ft
diam, lots of 2 ft.
Trees of Commercial Value: Yes, lots of oak
Uneven-Aged Canopy Structure: Yes
Downed Logs:  Lots!
Standing Snags: Yes
Treefall Gaps: ????????
Pit and Mound Topography: Yes
Ecosystem Stability:  ??? Forest floor consists mostly of oak leaves,
not much shrub or small plant growth, few saplings.
Diversity of Plants and Animals: ????????
Little or No Evidence of Human Disturbance: Fallen trees cut to clear
hiking trails,One fence wire seen at border, hiking evidence.

# Single, straight tall trees trunks with the lowest branches 40 to 50
feet from the ground:   yes ?
# Old trees, as marked by great size, buttress rooting and twisting or
"ropy" growth in the trunk; yes ?

http://www.powdermillspark.com/bigtreeareaphotos/index.html

 

Continued at:

http://groups.google.com/group/entstrees/browse_thread/thread/d42053b5c55abba3?