Hi Karl and Kathy,
As you know, I met with Betsy, Ebby (sp.?), and Joan yesterday to look at the vegetation in the Woods Settlement. I just thought I would summarize what I saw, and pass along some additional information on invasive plant species to look out for. Perhaps you can forward this to people.
The Woods Settlement is located in a good quality mesic hardwood forest community. The canopy is dominated by large maple, beech and red oak trees. Other trees I noted include black cherry, sassafras, ash, quaking aspen and flowering dogwood. Shrubs include witch-hazel, black-haw, chokecherry, spicebush, swamp rose and blackberry. Woody vines include Virginia creeper and poison ivy. Several herbaceous (non-woody) species were observed, including yellow jewelweed, white grass, nettle, water pepper, avens, pokeweed, Virginia knotweed, and jack-in-the-pulpit. Several “spring ephemeral” plants (harbinger of spring, spring beauty, wild leek) may occur here as well, but these species would have already completed their life cycle for this year and thus would not be encountered at this time anyway. It is notable that the yellow jewelweed found here is less common in this region than orange jewelweed, which is a separate species. All are indigenous to the area and typically found in forests and woodlands. Some listed above are restricted to areas that have saturated soil.
Overall, the woods here are a climax community, evidenced by the dominance of beech, maple and red oak. Due to the establishment of roads and the construction of houses, some openings have been made in the forest canopy on a limited basis. Openings in the forest canopy are a natural phenomenon, usually caused by the natural death of single large, old trees or by storm damage that can range from a few missing branches to several downed trees. This is nature’s way of regenerating the forest. The increased sunlight allows seeds to germinate and allows young trees to grow taller to replace the forest canopy.
It’s important to remember that even though a forest may look static at first glance, it is actually a dynamic natural community that will change in composition, density and appearance. Openings in the canopy typically result in dense patches of shrubs and young trees that are taking advantage of the increased light. Generally, these thickets grow taller and less dense as the trees mature and replace the canopy. Many of the saplings die out, shaded by the few dominant trees that grow faster in that spot. The dense foliage on the ground and at eye level tends to spread out vertically as trees grow taller. This is important for wildlife, as foliage near the ground provides cover for small mammals and foliage at different heights above the ground provides habitat for different species of birds. The mosaic of structure both horizontally (in different spots through the woods) and vertically (from ground to treetops) is important for biodiversity.
Some folks want to thin out these natural thickets. I recommend that this be done very sparingly, if at all, to allow the forest to develop as naturally as possible.
One former road has been re-vegetated with a planting of sun-loving wildflowers such as sunflowers and black-eyed Susans. This planting should be mowed every 1-2 years to control the establishment of woody plants (trees and shrubs), if folks want to maintain what is growing there now. However, these flowers may still get shaded out in the long term as the opening in the forest canopy around it closes over time. Another course of action would be to allow the flowers to be gradually replaced by forest: i.e. shrubs and trees.
The wildflower planting and the woods also had very small amounts of the following non-native, invasive species:
tree-of-heaven (Ailanthus altissima)
oriental bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus)
Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense)
reed-canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea)
multiflora rose (Rosa multiflora)
These are the plants you want to remove. They are truly invasive and can alter the composition, development and regeneration of the forest, as well as threaten other natural communities at Tryon Farm. I recommend that folks learn these species and keep an eye out for them, to control new occurrences before they become problems. (I know you guys are on top of the garlic mustard though, and the reed canary grass looked like it had been sprayed. Good work!)
Information on these and other invasive plants can be found at the following links:
http://extension.entm.purdue.edu/CAPS/index.html
http://www.in.gov/dnr/2412.htm
http://www.in.gov/dnr/2343.htm
http://www.mipn.org/detectionresponse.html
Well, hope I didn’t ramble too much or get too technical. Again, please share this with other folks who would be interested, and I’m happy to answer any additional questions that come up.
Paul Quinlan
Stewardship Program Manager
Shirley Heinze Land Trust
444 Barker Road
Michigan City, IN 46360
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