Ecological Succession
Look at the forest around you. Now imagine it
on fire. Flames consume the plants and scare away the animals. When the fire subsides,
the landscape is burnt and barren. What happens next?
Ecological succession is the process of regrowth after an event removes most or all of the species living in an area. These events are called disturbances and can be natural phenomenon like wildfires, hurricanes, or falling trees, or human endeavors such as farming, logging, or prescribed burning. These activities reset the successional clock and invite early plant colonizers to settle in the area.
The first plants to arrive are called pioneers. Thriving in the full sun, these grasses, herbs, and forbs reproduce and mature quickly. Trees and shrubs follow and compete for sunlight, water, and nutrients. Grasses, shrubs and seedlings fade away as taller trees grab the direct sunlight. The final stage of this succession cycle is a multi-layered community composed of tall poplars and pines and shorter shade-loving trees like maples and dogwood growing beneath them.
When the property was given to the State in 1938, it was half forested and half open land. The open fields were later planted with pine trees. Foresters manage this land with controlled deer-hunts, tree-plantings, harvests, and prescribed burns to maintain a healthy and productive forest. To the untrained eye this land may look completely natural; it has actually been carefully managed by the forestry department.
The Battlefield also carefully manages its land by maintaining multiple stages of succession. Shrubland, grassland, and forest all combine to provide visitors with an accurate vista of the land as it was during the Civil War. This mix of early and late successional stages also provides excellent wildlife habitat on both properties.
Ecological succession is the process of regrowth after an event removes most or all of the species living in an area. These events are called disturbances and can be natural phenomenon like wildfires, hurricanes, or falling trees, or human endeavors such as farming, logging, or prescribed burning. These activities reset the successional clock and invite early plant colonizers to settle in the area.
The first plants to arrive are called pioneers. Thriving in the full sun, these grasses, herbs, and forbs reproduce and mature quickly. Trees and shrubs follow and compete for sunlight, water, and nutrients. Grasses, shrubs and seedlings fade away as taller trees grab the direct sunlight. The final stage of this succession cycle is a multi-layered community composed of tall poplars and pines and shorter shade-loving trees like maples and dogwood growing beneath them.
When the property was given to the State in 1938, it was half forested and half open land. The open fields were later planted with pine trees. Foresters manage this land with controlled deer-hunts, tree-plantings, harvests, and prescribed burns to maintain a healthy and productive forest. To the untrained eye this land may look completely natural; it has actually been carefully managed by the forestry department.
The Battlefield also carefully manages its land by maintaining multiple stages of succession. Shrubland, grassland, and forest all combine to provide visitors with an accurate vista of the land as it was during the Civil War. This mix of early and late successional stages also provides excellent wildlife habitat on both properties.