Post by Dave Moore, Associate Professor at the School of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Arizona

Reposted from http://djpmoore.tumblr.com/

Just a couple more photos from our walk in the woods with Prof Kerry Woods.

Since settlement of the US, Eastern Hemlock has been lost from many of the forests. Hemlock, once established, is a fantastic competitor and maintains it’s own dark, moist micro-climate beneath it’s branches. The effectively excludes other species from the location but allows the shade tolerant Hemlock seedlings to thrive.

This particular Hemlock is growing out of the darkness reaching out for light in a gap caused by a blowdown. The tree is taking advantage of a temporary resource that will likely disappear in the next few years.

Dr. Kerry Woods explains the gap dynamics of the Huron Mountain Wildlife Foundation to our group. Kerry is standing waist deep in Sugar Maple seedlings – the trees are competing with each other to close the gap and make it to the canopy – but most of them will not survive.

Yellow Birch needs to start out on nurse logs on the forest floor. This is the reason you often find this tree growing in straight lines in a natural forest.

Rachel @rachelgallerys and Kelly (ND)

Kelly and Ann (from ND)

Evan (ND) and our driver