By Sara Fitzsimmons
Regional Science Coordinator
The American Chestnut Foundation
On Saturday, April 25, several representatives from The American Chestnut Foundations (TACF) met at Aton Forest to discuss details of a summer project that is to be taken on by the Connecticut Chapter intern this summer. Christine Cadigan, a Duke University Stanback Intern, will be taking on this project starting in mid-May. More information on the intern and the project may be found at the related blog entry: Selection of Summer 2009 CTTACF Intern
 [click to enlarge] photo courtesy of Sara Fitzsimmons |
The mature forest of Aton Forest contains primarily hemlock and red oak. This photograph to the left was taken along the township line, the westernmost boundary of Aton Forest.
The main goal for this year's summer intern project is to discover the differences in chestnut counts between two sites, Aton Forest and the Harvard Forest. Dr. Fred Paillet, now at Univ. of Arkansas, saw many similarities between these two forests, but one major difference. While there were many living sprouts at Harvard Forest, Aton Forest had very few. What Aton did have, however, were many dead stems laying on the ground. Why would these two sites, with similar over-story, apparent geology, and general ecology, have such differences in chestnut stocking? And why would Aton, a site formerly rich in chestnut, no longer support living stems? |
| To answer those primary questions, Dr. Paillet has proposed a study for Christine wherein she will thoroughly 1) study the landuse and history of both sites; 2) sample dead chestnut stems as well as surrounding species; and 3) and map both living and dead chestnut locations.
Differences in landuse may be the easiest answer. Different management techniques can certainly affect stocking of many species. Even if differences in landuse appear to be the primary answer, sampling and mapping of the living and dead stems can still provide very useful information. Christine, Dr. Paillet, and TACF can learn about what effects geology, soil type, slope, climate, and aspect all have on long-term chestnut population survival. By looking at these sites closely, and determining why one site has sustained a living population while the other didn't, TACF may be in a better position to establish guidelines for long-term management of restoration plots. This living sprout (pictured in image to right) is along the North Colebrook Road, only a few hundred feet southeast from the main entrance to Aton Forest. |
 [click to enlarge] photo courtesy of Sara Fitzsimmons |
 [click to enlarge] photo courtesy of Sara Fitzsimmons |
So, in preparation for Christine's arrival in mid-May, Dr. Paillet met with Dr. John Anderson, Executive Director of Aton Forest, Bill Adamsen, President of CT-TACF, Gayle Kida, Breeding Coordinator for CT-TACF, and Sara Fitzsimmons, TACF's Northern Appalachian Regional Science Coordinator (and former Duke Stanback Intern in 2000).
The first thing we looked at were the only two living sprouts we knew about on the site as well as the only still-standing stump on the property. The photo to left shows another sprout found by Bill Adamsen during our walk. The larger stem is dead while the small sprout, being held by Fred, is barely visible. |
| And the only long-dead stem still standing. John is on the left with Fred in the middle. The cankered portion of this stem was removed and is now on display in the Aton Forest office. |  [click to enlarge] photo courtesy of Sara Fitzsimmons |
 [click to enlarge] map courtesy of Sara Fitzsimmons |
After looking at those individuals, the group traveled southeast to the township line, which is marked by a stone wall. From there, we traversed the contour of the slope. Below shows a draft map created using GPS coordinates taken during the tour. The living sprouts are in the upper portion of the map (marked by purple tree). The office is a big red phone. The dead stems are marked by green hexagons. Many other dead stems were observed but not sampled. The majority of those dead stems appear to be clustered up and down the south-facing slope. The “green cloud” near the living sprouts denotes an orchard of material from the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station. |
| One of the first tasks our group had to learn, and must subsequently teach Christine, is how to identify weathered chestnut wood. Chestnut wood is pretty distinct, though can be tricky until one gets a “seasoned” eye. But there are some good rules of thumb, and by the end of the day, the group were almost professionals at ID'ing downed stems. |  [click to enlarge] photo courtesy of Sara Fitzsimmons |
 [click to enlarge] photo courtesy of Sara Fitzsimmons |
The first feature of which to take note is what other species would be in the forest. In Aton, about the only species that could be large, downed wood would be white pine, hemlock, white birch, red oak, and chestnut. Each of those species are very readily distinguishable among themselves, except for red oak and chestnut. Hemlock and white birch typically decay quite quickly. White pine is highly distinguishable because it is not ring porous and should have a distinct “piney” smell for quite some time.
When weathered, red oak and chestnut look very much alike and both have good rot resistance qualities. But there is one very noticeable feature difference between the two in a structure called a ray. When looking at a sample that might be chestnut, one should look very closely at the rings. On cross-sections of oak, like that to the left, red oak will exhibit very distinct white lines that bisect the growth rings. These structures are called “rays”. While chestnut has these features, they are rarely noticeable to the naked eye. |
| Though sampling the dead wood as well as the surrounding living trees will be the only way we can determine the ages of these down stems, they have most likely been dead at least 60 or more years. Those stems in contact with the forest floor have decayed more than those stems that are up off the ground. But even those that endured for some time deteriorate more every year. The next decade or so may be one of the last opportunities for TACF to analyze the extent of pre-blight chestnut populations by sampling downed chestnut wood. Though very rot resistant, even chestnut will decay given enough time, and decay will only hasten as these stems fall to the ground. |  [click to enlarge] photo courtesy of Sara Fitzsimmons |
Other Photos From the Forest
| The tour provided great opportunities for seeing the early forest growth. |  [click to enlarge] photo courtesy of Bill Adamsen |
 [click to enlarge] photo courtesy of Sara Fitzsimmons |
Early this spring, Aton Forest experienced serious windstorms. The tops of many older white pine and hemlocks were sheared off the trees and strewn about the forest floor. One of the more interesting sights at the site is this blow-over of three mature hemlocks. |
| One of the more impressive parts of this blowdown of hemlocks is the very narrow band of organic material in which the hemlocks were growing. There is generally no mineral soil on this site and the bedrock tends to sit very near the surface. |  [click to enlarge] photo courtesy of Sara Fitzsimmons |
