Dr. Tom Horton; State University of New York, School of Environmental Science and Forestry
Project: Facilitated succession towards a climax community at the Mianus River Gorge Preserve
Plant succession has been a focus of plant ecologists for over 100 years. Over the last several decades, restoration ecologists have applied basic knowledge of the plant succession to accelerate the establishment of preferred vegetation on sites that have been degraded. In the Mianus River Gorge Preserve, young forests growing from abandoned agricultural fields over the past several decades are presently dominated by maples and birches and have very few trees valuable to wildlife such as oaks, hickories, and hemlocks that are characteristic of the diverse, mature forests of the Gorge. These young hardwood forest naturally progress on its own towards greater diversity; however, changes to the soil, including the lack of beneficial fungi, may hinder this process. Dr. Horton proposes to facilitate the establishment of climax tree species (hemlock, in particular) in these low diversity young forests. Rather than simply planting trees into the new sites, he will utilize mycorrhizal fungi from local old-growth forests to enhance the establishment and growth of the trees. This novel technique may assist succession to old-growth conditions and may facilitated increased biodiversity of birds, mammals, and amphibians associated with mature forests.
Dr. Horton's homepage
Mianus River Gorge Preserve
167 Mianus River Rd
Bedford, NY 10506-1808
(914) 234-3455
rodc@optonline.net