Posted: Tue Feb 20, 2007 3:36 pmJust added Three Ridges in VA: http://www.summitpost.org/mountain/rock ... idges.html[url][/url]
Last time I was there (three years ago), I couldn't find a single living hemlock. Official count is that well over 90% of the hemlocks in Shenandoah are dead, including all of the old growth groves.
I've been curious about what trees are going to move into the areas where hemlocks once stood. Guess it will be some more years before we know that.
And e-doc responded:
High elevation hardwoods; beech, yellow birch, ash, and cherry.
The hemlocks were mostly in ravines and on north-facing slopes, so e-doc may be a bit off. Beech is more common on low-land, poor-soil sites. I don't think there is much yellow birch in the park; more sweet birch (which is filling in). I can't say that I have seen that much ash either. Cherry will definitely be part of the mix. Tulip poplar is the first replacement. White pine will probably also fill in, because it also likes the cold environment that hemlock does. The typical oak-hickory mix will also eventually be part of the replacement.
By the way, there are some small hemlocks left in many places and there is even an old, stunted one at the top of Robertson Mountain. But the loss is still very disturbing; I've got a photo of a cut-through blowdown on the Corbin Hollow Trail that was about 15 years old when the Decalaration of Independence was signed. Unlike the chestnut trees, the hemlocks rot very quickly, so before too long there will be no evidence of their existence.