Logger's escape route trees--Stressed dwarf minion Hemlock--Amazing!

[slowp]

Is it a given these trees will 'continue to be small' or do some continue to grow as a 'natural unsuppressed' tree once they receive their light? Also, if our forests were left to thrive NATURALLY, what would the dominant conifer species be, without the help [or harm] from man? My novice guess would be Douglas Fir, due to their awesome heights and strength and also the ability to grow thicker bark that protects them from fires [ie west of cascades conifers speaking].

It would depend on the micro site conditions. The shade tolerant species would become dominant if there are no disturbances--fire, wind, root rot, bugs, bears, etc.

Look up Early Seral and Late Seral species. There's your answer.

Studies show that stand replacement fires have and will occur on the wetside. It sounds similar to earthquakes in time. By the way, humans existed here before the Europeans arrived. They had a few fires that got away and there is one that got out of hand when they tried to use it against their enemies. That one was near Chehalis, I think.

As for suppressed trees making a growth spurt? Silviculturists say no. When we were thinning, those were cut.

 

[slabMan]

Thanks for your knowledge! That is interesting. "Silviculturists" a new word I learned as well!

 

[freeasaburt]

The "Stressed Dwarf/Minion Hemlock" trees only survive because they are being fed by the larger trees via the underground mycorrhizal(root fungus) network. Likely this arrangement evolved because it offers the advantage to the species of having ready to grow small trees when older trees die or are blown over.

The "Stressed Dwarf/Minion Hemlock" likely have identical genetics to the larger hemlock trees. It has been shown that the mycorrhizal network crosses the specie barrier.

As far as I know this feeding of the smaller trees by the larger trees is true of all trees.

Treebubba

Interesting!

Depending on the soil type, if left untouched forests here in Belgium and other Western-European countries tend to become dominated by beech (with some oak). This is because beech does exactly the same thing: young beech trees that don't get sufficient sunlight are provided with nutrients through the roots (+ the mycorrhizal network) of older trees with a big canopy.

Eventually you get these 'beech cathedrals', which are pretty beautiful. There's remnants (well, restored, not first growth) of the once massive beech forests here, e.g. close to Brussels; the original forest was dubbed "the coal forest" or "the coal burners' forest" by Julius Caesar ('Silva Carbonaria') because the local tribes cut down quite a lot of trees to turn into charcoal, to fuel their iron smelting furnaces.

 

[slabMan]

"Beech Cathedral" look similar to this?

 

[freeasaburt]

That's birch, but yeah somewhat similar to that; with bigger trees though, which are the 'pillars', with the canopy being the 'roof'.

This is a pic with beech trees, taken in the 'Soines forest' close to Brussels:




Another piece of beech forest, close to a place called Halle, is quite famous around here for the 'Bluebell' flowers covering the forest floor every year:

 

[Del_]

I believe those are Aspens, and have a rhizomatic root system.

Rhizomes are underground dormant or latent buds all along root system and any of they can become active if conditions are right. Hostas are a good example of a plant with rhizomes.

Stoloniferous root systems are on the surface and have dormant or latent buds on their roots and they can become active if conditions are right. Strawberries are a good example.

With both types of root system the sprouts formed are 'clones' of the parent plant, being genetically identical.

Or something like that.

There is a major difference between plants supported by underground root systems and plants(trees) supported by underground mycorrhizal networks.

 

[freeasaburt]

Ah ok, not familiar with American species really but looking at pictures online that might be aspen rather than (silver) birch indeed.

There doesn't seem to be a Dutch (or Flemish, the Belgian version of Dutch) word for Aspen, although all Aspen variants are of the Populus genus; I think we call all those poplar ('populier', e.g. Populus tremuloides we call 'Amerikaanse ratelpopulier', which translates as American 'trembling' or 'rattling' poplar; there's an indigenous species too, 'Populus Tremula', which we call just 'ratelpopulier'.)