Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: Listening Point - General Discussion :: Interesting read - BWCA forest succession
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CoachBigD |
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TomT |
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WHendrix |
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CoachBigD |
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CoachBigD |
TomT: "Good read but I’m not excited about an “oak savanna” in place of the forests we have now. " I hear ya. |
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marsonite |
CoachBigD: "One question that comes up after I read this is if cedars are understory Tre that is not fire adapted, why are there some real ancient specimens? I have a recollection of a cedar on Seagull moving towards a thousand years old?" Those old cedars are growing somewhere where fires don't reach, like along a lakeshore. When you hear "forest fire" you tend to think of conflagrations like the Pagami Creek fire or the fires that occured in the blowdown. But historically, forest fires were much more subdued for the most part, just burning in the understory. Actually, most fires today are more subdued...it's the conflagrations that make the news. Anyway, these subdued fires will leave places untouched, which is where you get these old growth cedars. |
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missmolly |
Wow, that's soon. More, from the article: "Change is inevitable. The Boundary Waters we loved, both before and after the blowdown, itself is a result of hundreds of years of disturbance, regrowth, and succession. I’m not excited about the current changes, in large part because of humans’ role in the demise of the landscape we admire. But the vibrant green hues of young forests are pleasant, and some of my favorite places in Iowa are savannas. They are beautiful. In an interview with Minnesota Public Radio, Frelich took the stance that, “If the climate is going to go that direction and we’re not going to do anything about it, we might as well make it the best savannah that it can be.” I feel the same way about my mote of Maine. Change is coming. I can't stop it. So, I've planted dozens of trees native to southern Maine (I live about halfway up the coast.) that are more likely to thrive in our warming climate. The forest, of course, would adapt on its own, but I'm helping it adapt, as tree species would move north much more slowly than in my trailer. |
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sedges |
Places that were swept clean during the last ice age have been changing ever since. Oak savanna is not likely in the BWCA landscape. The oak savanna of southern MN and Iowa has deep prairie soils, BWCA has very little mineral soil at all, just that organic muck we love so much on the portages. Sure, a very open canopy woodland that burns regularly might replace what we know now. Maybe we are seeing the beginning of that change. It actually might have been there before, thousands of years ago...we don't know. There might be some prairie plants that show up in the mix. The tree composition will change, hard to tell what that might look like. Wish I could live long enough to watch it happen. It will be different, but still amazingly beautiful. |
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Minnesotian |
For further reading, here is a Washington Post article on the northern forest of MN and efforts to adapt and save the current composition. I think this article was linked to BWCA.com before, but this looked like a good thread to add to as well. Climate Solutions Northern Minnesota |