![]() The tree continues growing around the scar, the succeeding rings creating a pattern that scallops with each injury. Red pines instead secrete a resin that seals the wound and preserves the wood. For other species, the scar would leave the tree vulnerable to infection by fungi, which would rot the wood and erase the data. Like a rock in a river with an eddy behind it, the passing flame flares up in that vortex and scars the tree. When a fire passes by the base of the tree, a heat vortex forms on the side toward which the fire is heading. These trees possess a unique defense mechanism: they produce resin in response to certain stressors. Hard pines, like red pine, are particularly well-suited to recording fire. The fire scars visible on the outside of this red pine snag in the Manistee National Forest are referred to as a “cat face.” Image: Marie Orttenburger At a nearby site, Guyette found snags with fire scar dates as far back as 1717. They hold the most promise for data that spans far enough back in time to tell them something about the area’s early fire history. These snags are what Stambaugh and Dey are searching for. “It’s like the prior forest is still here as a ghost, in some ways,” Stambaugh said. These are the remains of long-dead, uncut trees-ones that died before the loggers arrived and were left to continue decaying. ![]() Training an eye along the forest floor at the Wellston research site reveals a few scattered “snags” between the rows of pines. To do this, they collect red pine samples-but not from those trees planted by the Civilian Conservation Corps. Stambaugh, Dey and their colleagues Richard Guyette and Joe Marschall are using dendrochronology-or tree-ring dating-to understand the Manistee National Forest’s historical fire regimes, or how frequently and intensely fires used to occur. The red pines they methodically planted in straight rows still grow tall today and can be seen in every one of Michigan’s national forests. Efforts by the Civilian Conservation Corps were ultimately what reforested the landscape. Trees didn’t regrow for decades following the land’s exploitation. All that was left on the land was slash-woody debris that readily burned-and intense wildfires repeatedly took out any new growth that might have emerged. The Manistee National Forest was created from tax-forfeited and purchased lands that European settlers logged and then found unsuitable for agriculture. Some of the answers may yet linger in this heavily altered forest. This knowledge could help today’s land managers understand what they need to do to restore the land’s health and biodiversity. These resources help answer questions about the composition of Michigan’s ecosystems before a deluge of European settlers arrived and clearcut the state’s ancient forests and turned its prairies into farm fields. ![]() To go back further in time, researchers depend in part on nature’s record keepers: trees, soil, lake core sediment samples. Before it was logged, this research site was a mix of red pine-white pine forest, cedar swamp and white pine-mixed hardwood forest, according to a map put together by the Michigan Natural Features Inventory. That question can be answered, in part, thanks to General Land Office surveys conducted around 1800. Then you see historical pictures, when everything was cut. “Well, no, actually this is a planted forest. “We might look at this forest today and think ‘Oh, well it’s always looked like this,’” Stambaugh said. Stambaugh and Dey observe the rings on a sawn red pine snag in the Manistee National Forest. ![]() Most of the standing trees are likely less than 100 years old. Birds sing in the overstory, butterflies flutter along the forest floor. The nearly homogenous forest emits a pinkish glow thanks to the ruddy bark of the pines. Forest Service acquired the land in 1938. The research site is densely packed with towering red pines-their distribution betraying the mechanical, uniform way the Civilian Conservation Corps planted them after the U.S. The small unincorporated community’s point of pride is its location at the heart of the Manistee National Forest and proximity to the Manistee, Pine and Pere Marquette rivers, where anglers flock to fish for trout.Ī turn down a sandy two-track leads into a sun-dappled forest where Stambaugh and Dey have parked their rented SUV. They’ve traveled to a site just west of Wellston-a town whose own website warns that if you blink while driving down M-55, you might just miss it. On a warm day in May, dendrochronologists Michael Stambaugh and Daniel Dey visit Michigan’s Lower Peninsula to collect samples of red pine stumps to learn about fire. ![]()
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