NJ Outdoor Women's League
Bountiful Pine Barrens Revealed
October 13, 2002
Bountiful Pine Barrens Revealed
October 13, 2002
|
NJ Outdoor Women's League
Bountiful Pine Barrens Revealed October 13, 2002 |
       
|
by Larain Keller On October 13th, NJ OWL members had the privilege of hiking through the Pine Barrens with Dr. John Kuser, retired Cook College Professor of Forest Ecology and Dendrology. Dr. Kuser's passion and field of study is trees, and he's responsible for discovering 35 species of trees which were placed on New Jersey's Big Tree List. The program catalogues the largest individual trees in the state according to species. We met at the Ranger Station in Wharton State Forest which was recently renamed Brendan T. Byrne State Forest. The weather was damp and the smell of pinecones greeted us as we began our journey. We crossed the sandy trails and roads that crisscross the forest as Dr. Kuser pointed out various species of trees that help make the Pine Barrens a special place. We first examined a chestnut oak. Dr. Kuser pointed out that the underside of its leaf has a fine velvety fuzz which was readily confirmed with the help of a handheld 10-power lens. In contrast he said, the chestnut oaks in North Jersey have a smooth underside, a distinction unique perhaps to Dr. Kuser's keen sense of observation. We saw oaks that looked half dead to us, but they were actually healthy black-jack oaks. Their leaf lobes have tips pointed like the bristles of a paint brush. White oak leaves, in contrast, have rounded lobes and are bluish in color. Black-jack oak acorns take 2 years to mature, while white and chestnut oak acorns mature in one season. |
|
Dr. Kuser asked us if we could guess why half the trees in the Pine Barrens are white oaks. They proliferate because they outlast more vulnerable trees like ash, which are prone to splits and are therefore subject to decay. White oaks can live anywhere from 500 to 600 years. A 300-year-old white oak can be 20 feet around. A white oak in Basking Ridge grew to be 500 years old. The Kilmer Oak, made famous by Joyce Kilmer's poem, "Trees," was a white oak, and it once stood on the campus of Cook College. We saw a variety of pines: white pine, pitch pine, short leaf pine and loblolly pine. Loblolly is one of Dr. Kuser's favorites. It originates from the Delmarva Peninsula. The loblolly and pitch pine are close relatives but loblolly has longer needles in bunches of threes, and larger cones. It grows taller, thicker and straighter than pitch pine, and is a valuable timber tree. Loblollies are the mainstay of the pine industry and used for construction beams and timbers because it has strong wood. Pitch pine on the other hand is more crooked and grows more slowly. Pines proliferate over hardwoods in the Pine Barrens because the soil is sandy in the outer coastal plain and pines are better adapted to this type of soil. If you lose leaves, Dr. Kuser explained, nutrients aren't retained. Also, pine roots grow better in sandy soil than do hardwoods, so they don't crowd out the pines. We continued on our way and crossed the road onto the Batona Trail, which is marked by a pink blaze. Dr. Kuser pointed out a blackened oak and asked what kind it was. A DEAD ONE. Got-cha! Dr. Kuser explained that aphids, fungi, and galls (400 kinds of galls) can kill trees in the Pine Barrens. Along the way we spotted a flock of Eastern Bluebirds and ended our walk back at the Ranger Station having enjoyed a fine afternoon. Even a bit of sunshine broke out for a while. The day in the Pine Barrens with Dr. Kuser brought us to the realization that the Pine Barrens had been improperly named. We couldn't have asked for a nicer day and we hope Dr. Kuser will take us on another hike to learn about New Jersey's bountiful woodlands. |
|
|
|
|
