Thinking Like a Forest: On Fire and Oak Woods

Iknow of a white oak tree that is probably more than 500 years old. I have no way of proving this, but it is growing on a dry hilltop and thus growing very slowly owing to the lack of water, and dwarfs a 300-year-old white oak I cored for its age many years ago. Each time I go to these woods, I stop...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ecological Restoration 2010-09, Vol.28 (3), p.234-235
Main Author: Simpson, Thomas B.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Fire ecology
Forest ecology
Forest fires
Forest stands
Insect reproduction
PERSPECTIVE
Restoration ecology
Saplings
Savannas
Seedlings
Trees
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Iknow of a white oak tree that is probably more than 500 years old. I have no way of proving this, but it is growing on a dry hilltop and thus growing very slowly owing to the lack of water, and dwarfs a 300-year-old white oak I cored for its age many years ago. Each time I go to these woods, I stop by and ponder this great mushroom-shaped tree, 130 cm in diameter, only 14 m tall, and with a 23 m crown spread. To the north, downslope on the Marengo Moraine, grew bur oak savanna a few centuries ago, and beyond that open prairie stretched for kilometers to the north and west across the glacial outwash plain. The woods are filled with young trees and shrubs of other species today, which cut off sightlines to the north, but it is easy to imagine standing on this knoll and looking out across the prairie--pretty heady stuff.
ISSN:1543-4060
1522-4740
1543-4079
DOI:10.3368/er.28.3.234