History of the spruce–fir forest in the Catskill Mountains of New York

Abstract

Red spruce (Picea rubens Sarg.) and balsam fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.) were present by 13,700 years B.C.E. in the Catskills Mountains of southeastern New York State. These conifers were, and still are, largely confined to the eastern and far western portions of the region. A gap in the distribution exists between these populations. Both species are absent from the intervening East Branch Delaware River watershed. No red spruce macrofossils were found in this watershed, suggesting that this conifer never colonized the gap postglacially. Rare macrofossils of balsam fir were found in only three of the 24 peatlands in this watershed, the conifer having disappeared between 11,300 and 8,200 years B.C.E.

An interdisciplinary framework for evaluating 19th century landscape paintings for ecological research

“…Concerns about anthropogenic impacts on the forest were often top of mind for Hudson River School painters. Much of their work depicted a forest experiencing profound and rapid change, from hemlock harvesting for the tanning industry in the Catskills to lumber extraction, agricultural clearing, and harvest for charcoal and acid wood factories (Kudish, 2000). Cole issued the sharpest written screeds against extractive industry, decrying how “the beauty of [untouched] landscapes are quickly passing away—the ravages of the axe are daily increasing—the most noble scenes are made desolate, and oftentimes with a wantonness and barbarism scarcely credible in a civilized nation” (Cole, 1836).…”

Fire in the Northeast: Learning from the Past, Planning for the Future

“…Eastern oak forests and grasslands have wider distributions than other vegetation types that are less dependent upon topography, perhaps reflecting their higher dependence on human ignitions (Lorimer & White, 2003;McEwan, Dyer, & Pederson, 2011;Parshall & Foster, 2002), although they also tend to dominate relatively dry sites and on higher topographic positions (Shumway, Abrams, & Ruffner, 2001). Spruce-fir forests are distributed across northerly latitudes and high elevations of the northeastern United States (De Lafontaine & Payette, 2011;Kudish, 2013;Stehn, Webster, Jenkins, & Jose, 2011). Finally, grasslands are widely distributed due to their relationship with human landclearing, and they dominate flatter sites with fertile soils (Hanberry, Kabrick, & He, 2014;.…”