Posted on

WALL OF INVASIVES TOPPLED

SUNSET AT OUR WORK SITE IN MORRIS PARK
SUNSET AT OUR WORK SITE IN MORRIS PARK

DECADES OLD ORIENTAL BITTERSWEET INFESTATION BROUGHT DOWN; MULTIFLORA ROSE AND JAPANESE HONEYSUCKLE BROUGHT UNDER CONTROL

Morris Park-  A dramatic turn of events unfolded this afternoon in this Beech-Oak upland forest of Morris Park, where the problematic “wall of invasives” was finally pulled down and bagged by a determined duo of local citizens.  This momentous act that took 5 hours of hard work and filled 11 bags of material, completely changed the landscape.  It was the first time this area looked like an eastern deciduous piedmont forest in years.  The “wall of invasives”  was an oppressive and impenetrable thicket of Oriental bittersweet, (Celastrus orbiculatus), Multiflora rose (Rosa multiflora), Japanese Honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) and Burning Bush (Euonymous alatus).

young Tulip Poplars suffer from the oppressive vines
Young Tulip Poplars suffer from the oppressive vines

Today was the culmination of 6 months of activities that led up the climactic fall of one of the most challenging groupings of invasives in the area.  In August of 2010, many of these vines were cut at ground level.  In November of 2010, work commenced removing all of the invasives around the wall, allowing full access to the site.

There was also a degree of planning as to how the execution of the exercise would proceed.  Due to the urgency of the vines on the trees, the local citizens decided on a “first pass” approach, which involves getting the vines off of the trees, first and foremost, and then coming back at a later time to remove the dense ground-layer matte of Japanese honeysuckle.   With a thick layer of snow on the ground, this made the most sense.  The snow also protects the dormant herbaceous plants that have buds close to the surface from being crushed by the feet of the pro-forest activists.

Pro-Forest activist Isabelle Dijols courageously fends off invading Oriental Bittersweet
Courageous pro-forest activist Isabelle Dijols fends off invading Oriental Bittersweet

Isabelle Dijols, co-founder of the popular anti-exotic invasive pro-forest blog The Sanguine Root, was attacked earlier this afternoon by a falling section of the thorny vine Multiflora rose. Her thick winter coat and gloves saved her from possible injuries.  She was asked about the great achievement of finally cutting down the “wall of Invasives”  and where the forest was going to go from there:

” Right now I think it’s important to feel the jubilation and savor the moment. This has been a long and sometimes difficult process.  Alot of work gloves were ruined, clippers worn dull, long hours were put in. Now we feel good about our work, tomorrow we plan for Morris park’s future. “

Sanguine Root’s blogger Sean Solomon was recently released from the tedious confinement of bagging Japanese Honeysuckle and Oriental Bittersweet.  Back out on the open site, cutting down vines from a Dogwood tree, a much more glamourous exercise, he was asked about todays events: Sean waited for the birds to finish tweeting before he spoke.

“It’s great- It’s been a long time coming.  But it’s really just the beginning.  There’s going to be alot of follow-through necessary to effectively control the Japanese Honeysuckle.  We can’t just slap ourselves on the back, congratulate ourselves and have a party  every time we pull a weed. Were going to be going back to this site for a while, monitoring it, pulling more Japanese Honeysuckle, as well as seasonally controlling invasives such as Garlic Mustard  and the dreaded Mile-a-minute, more precisely Persicaria perfoliata, formerly polygonatum perfoliatum, which is growing only 75 feet from here.  I am humbled by this scope of work, and feel a great sense of pride when the neighbors show their appreciation.”

Mr Solomon also  noted that spell checks of all these latin names are very easy using the search engine Google.  He also noted that Facebook had nothing to do with today’s events.

After many days in the thicket, Sean Solomon was able to reach his goal of removing a tangle of Japanese Honeysuckle from this Beech Sapling
After many days in the thicket, Anti-invasive, pro-forest activist and blogger Sean Solomon was able to reach his goal of removing a tangle of Japanese Honeysuckle from this Beech Sapling

A diversity of trees, the understory shrub Spicebush, and a host of herbaceous plants co-exist on the site.  The trees include Oaks (Quercus), Beeches (Fagus grandifolia), Sweetgum (Liquidamber styraciflua), Sassafrass (Sassafrass albidum), Dogwood (Cornus florida), Tulip Poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera), and Black Cherry (Prunus serotina).

The herbaceous plants found in this exact site , to name a few, include Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis), Mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum), Wild Geranium (Geranium maculatum), False Solomon’s Seal (Smilacina racemosa), Solomon’s Seal (Polygonatum biflorum), and what is believed to be, but not yet confirmed, Twisted Stalk.

Sassafrass under siege from invasive vines-The "before liberation photo"
Sassafrass under siege from invasive vines-The “before liberation photo”

Isabelle wanted to liberate this Sassafrass, but the task was daunting. She considered it for next time, but only for a fleeting moment. In this historical event for this specific site, the transformation is now. The wall must come down!

Well, then, of course, the next question arose: Is that little Sassafrass still alive? After some careful evaluation, sure enough, there was living tissue on the specimen, green shoots with buds on them, ready for spring!  It’s still alive!  Viva la  revolucion!

Isabelle proceeded to remove the Oriental bittersweet and Japanese Honeysuckle until the tree was liberated. After careful evaluation, the dead pale yellowish-tan branches were pruned off.

sabelle frees the Sassafrass albidum from the invasive vines
Isabelle frees the Sassafrass albidum from the invasive vines The “after” photo

The most important thing was to get the vines down so the trees can grow, and not be strangled.  Also the vines set leaves that block the sun and compete with the trees access to the needed sunlight for photosynthesis.  Without enough sun, the trees can become weakened and eventually die.  In this one site, there were many dead trees, including Sassafrass, Dogwood, and Spicebush (Lindera benzoin). It is sad when a dead tree is found under a thicket of invasive vines.  As the day progressed and the events unfolded, the blighted urban wooded tract was transformed into a forested woodland area, with alot of interestingly shaped trees. Hopefully they will live and the ecosystem will mature and approximate the normalcy of a forest not infested with invasives.

Sean Solomon with a root fragment of Celastrus orbiculatus
Sean Solomon with a root fragment of invasive Celastrus orbiculatus (Oriental Bittersweet)

The vision is that Morris Park will once again be a fully functioning Pennsylvania woodland, a forested piece of the great state and region we live in.  With all of the invasives, Morris Park is at risk of being yet another degraded forest remnant of the urbanized Philadelphia region, an ecologically diminished mess of dead trees and aggressive vines next to a densely populated area.  That would be a shame and hopefully will not happen under the watch of so many concerned citizens in our neighborhood and the city at large.  Morris Park has so many features of a southeastern Pennsylvania woodland still existing and thriving that it is a natural treasure. To be able to walk out of one’s front door and into a bonified Pennsylvania forest, right here in the city of Philadelphia, is something we can still be proud of and we intend to keep it that way.

The Roots of Rosa multiflora
The Roots of Rosa multiflora
Japanese Honeysuckle climbs up Oriental Bittersweet on their way up to choking the Sassafrass tree Isabelle rescued
Japanese Honeysuckle climbs up Oriental Bittersweet on their way up to choking the Sassafrass tree Isabelle rescued
The areas most distinguishing landmark, this 'snag' which is a dead tree still standing, providing an excellent habitat for birds such as owls and other forest animals
The areas most distinguishing landmark, this ‘snag’ which is a dead tree still standing, providing an excellent habitat for birds such as owls and other forest animals
Posted on

A WINTER WATERSHED MOMENT

A FROZEN MORRIS PARK LANDSCAPE POISED TO BECOME PART OF INDIAN CREEK. AFTER SPILLING INTO COBBS AND DARBY CREEKS, THE SNOW  IN MORRIS PARK WILL BECOME THE DELAWARE

THE EAST BRANCH OF INDIAN CREEK WINDS THROUGH ITS FLOODPLAIN,VIEWED FROM THE END OF THE MORRIS PARK ROAD TRAIL
THE EAST BRANCH OF INDIAN CREEK WINDS THROUGH ITS FLOODPLAIN, VIEWED FROM THE END OF THE MORRIS PARK ROAD TRAIL

At the end of the Morris Park Road trail is a spectacular view. Meeting the Upper Trail, Tuesday morning, we can see the valley below, and Indian Creek, which has created the valley over the millennia.   This picture tells the Morris Park watershed story. From the base of the trunk of the large Beech tree on the left side of the picture (Fagus grandifolia), to the surface of the winding creek in the middle of the picture is a 90 foot drop in altitude.  To the right of this photo, about 75 feet, is a trail that goes straight down to Indian creek.  This steeply graded trail , comparable to that of a zesty and challenging mountain hike, is quite a contrast from the casual and leisurely woodland stroll of the Morris Park Road trail.

A 90 foot drop in elevation is quite an accomplishment for a creek. From the picture we can read how much room the creek needed to carve out such a grand ditch. Reading the photograph, go up the hill on the other side of the stream. At a point the snow ends and the trees begin, and for a section there the trees end and there is a bit  of sky and the picture ends. Some of those trees are 70 to 80 feet high. the clear line at the bottom of those trees is about 750 feet from the bottom of our Beech tree to the left foreground and the immediate horizon, right where i was standing to take the picture.  Indian Creek had dug a hole 750 wide and 90 feet deep!

Just try to imagine how long it took for that to happen, how many rainy days and nights, snow melts, and summer thunderstorms to wash away the soil to create this magnificent valley!  A ravine, 750 feet wide and 90 feet deep is a massive amount of soil that has been washed away over the years and carried downstream, eventually out to sea.

Standing at 226 feet above sea level, looking down at Indian Creek, 145 feet above sea leve
Standing at 226 feet above sea level, looking down at Indian Creek, 145 feet above sea level.

In the picture, Indian Creek is just a dark curvy slash through the center of the image. However, it is the creator of the image, the whole valley, the topography, the place itself.

The dramatic altitude drop of 90 feet comes close to closing the difference between two continental provinces. We stand on the piedmont, a landmass that stretches around 1000 miles long, from Alabama to New Jersey.   The Coastal Plain, which Indian Creek is about to reach is a landmass created from the run-off of piedmont soil, from all of the creeks like Indian creek cutting into the Appalachian mountains, cutting through the piedmont, and making their way into the Atlantic Ocean. Thousands of creeks, constantly washing away the land into the ocean.

Looking down on Indian Creek we see the beginnings of the coastal plain, the massive flat and grand region of the east coast of the North American continent.  The hike down to Indian Creek is a hike through the millennia of geologic history. We experience a significant part of the transitional phase between two grand landmasses of the continent, the Piedmont and the Coastal plain in this 90 foot drop.

In this wintery photograph, we can see the history and read the topography of Morris Park through the bones of the forest.

Last summer we followed the course of Indian Creek, exploring sections of Cobbs Creek Park along the way. While there is much to write about this subject, we will for now just tell you what we found as we reached Darby Creek, which is what Cobbs Creek spills into, Cobbs Creek being what  Morris Park’s Indian Creek spills into. The whole complex of one set of creeks spilling into a larger creek becomes the Darby Creek Watershed, which Morris Park is a part of.

What we found  towards the end of Darby Creek was a world so different and yet so close to us. This August 2010 photograph is truly in sharp contrast to the previous photo. Its location is in the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge in Tinicum Township right north of the Philadelphia International Airport, just about 6 miles and 6 months away.

Hibiscus moscheutos John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge

This is one of Sean’s first attempts at photographing a wild bird.

All of the snow that is piled up in Morris Park right now, along the paths and in the woods, along with whatever material (organic and inorganic) that gets dissolved in the snow, eventually ends up here, just a few miles away.  To further deepen our understanding of Morris Park, a visit to The John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge is most recommended by the staff of  The Sanguine Root. It will be a great day. Enjoy our Darby Creek Watershed.

Posted on

BEECH TREES RATTLE IN THE MORNING BREEZE

A TALE OF TWO BEECHES; WHY IS THE ONE ON THE LEFT DARKER THAN THE ONE ON THE RIGHT?
A TALE OF TWO BEECHES; WHY IS THE ONE ON THE LEFT DARKER THAN THE ONE ON THE RIGHT?

Fagus grandifolia.  Walking Keeba on Saturday morning, we noticed that these two young Beech trees had different colors in the leaves.

This Monday morning, while walking Keeba, the Beech trees were rattling in the breeze.  The leaves of the Beeches stay on through the winter, and they turn yellow and brownish, and they get brittle.  When the wind blows the leaves rattle. On a quiet winter’s day, while working in Morris Park removing invasives, this rattling sound is the only sound in the forest.

The two beech trees in the photo above were covered with grape vines this fall. The one to the right is still leaning a bit from the vestigial impact of the vines. The Vines have been removed and the trees now have a chance to grow.

The fallen tree behind the Beeches is an oak tree, and its status is considered a log. A log is a fallen tree.

The very dark and thin tree to the left foreground is an American Chestnut (Castenea dentata).  This tree has been reduced to the status of a forest shrub or small tree, from originally the dominant forest tree in the canopy. The American Chestnut blight (Cryphonectria parasitica) introduced from Asian chestnut trees is responsible for this condition.  The blight does not effect the tree below the ground, so the root systems are able to grow a new tree after the old one dies.  The thin tree to the left foreground may very well be hundreds of years old.  This specimen has been leafing out and growing taller year after year. However the blight, in the form of a fungus, tears apart the bark, and the tree may not live another year. (however the actual specimen will remain alive in its root system)  The roots have already sent out new shoots, which will grow into a new tree.

In Morris Park, there are a significant number of Chestnut trees in comparison to the rest of the city and county of Philadelphia.  This year, one of them even flowered and produced seeds, for the first time in at least five years (Since we first monitored them).

All of the trees we discussed today are in the same family, Fagaceae.  A family trait they all share is that they all retain some of their leaves throughout the winter.