| Poconos,
NE Pennsylvania |
Ron
Gonzalez |
| Mar
19, 2006 14:15 PST |
I've been poking around in the Poconos of NE
Pennsylvania, and have noticed a similar stark contrast between
moist
areas and dry areas, very often bumping up right next to
eachother.
The less common moist woods are dominated by white pine, hemlock
and
yellow birch (and sometimes red spruce and American beech), with
rhododendron maximum growing along streambanks, and lots of
mosses,
including clubmosses. Wetter areas have many of the typical
northern
woodland wildflowers, such as starflower. The forest floor is
shady and
cool.
Often only a few yards away, a completely different forest
community
dominates, and is generally more common. The drier areas are
dominated by
wind-whipped red maple, white oak, chestnut oak and pitch pine,
with
mountain laurel and bear oak frequently in the shrub layer. Some
areas
have stunted American chestnut, which I understand was very
common on the
drier ridges and has been replaced by oaks. The ground cover is
usually
dominated by wintergreen and sheep laurel. The forest is very
open, and
the forest floor is typically hit by a lot of sun and is often
dry.
The only recognized old growth areas are in steep ravines, such
as Glen
Onoko and Jeans Run, which always have thick stands of
rhododendron in the
shrub layer, lots of mosses, with a shady cover of hemlocks,
white pine
and red maple. There is one recognized old growth area of scrub
oak/pitch
pine, along Long Pond (protected watershed of the City of
Bethlehem),
which also features a rhodora heath.
Sounds like a southern version of the regenerating Canadian
Shield forest
Steve Galehouse describes, doesn't it?
I haven't been able to find out if the many square miles of
Pocono 'pine
barrens' were there pre-settlement, or are the result of
repeated logging
and subsequent fires. In other words, I'm wondering if the miles
and
miles of pine barrens are the aftermath of repeated logging of
wetter
hemlock forests that have since dried up.
Does anyone know where I could find out more about the natural
history of
the Poconos area?
Thanks,
- Ron Gonzalez
|
|