| Cedar
Creek |
Jess
Riddle |
| May
04, 2003 14:23 PDT |
Cedar Creek is a large tributary of the Chauga River in the
northwestern
corner of South Carolina. Coves in the area are typically oak
dominate
and often have a chalk maple midstory. Conifer-hardwood mixtures
with
rhododendron understory are common on the slopes along Cedar
Creek, and
either tuliptree or shortleaf pine form nearly pure stands in
many of the
stream flats. However, southern pine beetle has killed several
acres of
pine in the area of the past few years.
Species Cbh Height
Maple, Chalk 2'2.5" 42.0'
Oak, Scarlet NA 113.8'
Oak, Scarlet 7'5" 115.2'+
Oak, Scarlet 6'3" 123.8'
Pine, Shortleaf 6'11.5" 112.2'
Pine, Shortleaf 6'0" 117.9'
Pine, Shortleaf NA ~122'
Prior to a couple of weeks ago, I had only measured four scarlet
oaks
over 110', so seeing three in one day is quite unusual. I was
surprised
to see stewartias growing under the crown of the 7'5" tree,
which was
growing adjacent to the uppermost flat I saw. The tallest of the
oaks was
also surprising since it was growing in a steep, north facing
cove with
unusually open understory and lacking rich cove species. Several
dozen
shortleaf pines in the stream flats reach heights comparable to
those
listed above, but I doubt any reach the upper 120's.
Jess Riddle |
|