The Bull Run Mountains American Chestnut Survival Study is a three year project designed to increase the knowledge required to restore the American Chestnut in Virginia efficiently and effectively. The project is being undertaken by three organizations: Bull Run Mountains Conservancy (BRMC), Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI), and Virginia Chapter of The American Chestnut Foundation (VATACF).
We are testing the influence of light and deer herbivory on American chestnut (Castanea dentata) seedling growth and survival in areas where the chestnut was once a dominant tree. We will vary light levels by planting seeds in both canopy gap and closed forest sites. Within each site, we will assign the seedlings to either control status or individually fence seedlings to protect them from deer.
The project will last approximately 2-1/2 years. Phase I of the project began in October 2011 plotting the locations where seedlings will be planted. In the spring of 2012 the chestnuts will be planted and then monitored for two growing seasons through the fall of 2013.
– From the Spring 2012 issue of the VATACF newsletter, The Bur.
