Aspens and Birches in Primary Succession from the 1938 Hurricane

We have a small stand of 85-year-old (based on 17-inch DBH calculations) P. grandidentata that grew up in primary succession from root balls of deadfalls from the 1938 Hurricane (New England). This stand includes a small number of the P. xsmithii hybrids, but no P. tremuloides for miles. The aspens, as well as some Betula lenta and Betula papyrifera of the same age, will probably reach senescence within a decade or two as slower-growing White Pines and Red Oaks slowly reclaim the canopy. This site was once covered by the Laurentide ice sheet, but was inundated after the glacial retreat by Glacial Lake Hitchcock. It's been forested by White Pine and Hemlock for centuries (the oldest existing Hemlock and Pine trees date back to around 1850 or so), but there have been disturbances (such as the aforementioned hurricane) off and on over the years.

The 1938 Hurricane hit this area almost directly from the south and so only affected a few small areas with southern exposure within the Park. There are numerous pits and mounds from deadfalls, as well as a few linear mounds from the trunks themselves, all created by winds from the south.

It is uncertain at this time if the hybrid aspens are relicts of Pleistocene origin like similar stands in Oregon and Nebraska, or did they most likely hybridize much more recently?

Observation here: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/195269697

Publicado el 21 de enero de 2024 a las 02:31 PM por anachronist