This year I have not cleared sections of trails in the southwest corner of the Woods. Too much water backed up on most of the trails, then I was away when trails dried in late summer. This morning, with more rain expected before evening, I put on my water boots and went to see the SW trails.
There were many, many large elm branches down, blocking trails from the continuing decline of elms with Ophiostoma ulmi Dutch elm disease, and the flooding from Lloyd Noble parking lot run-off.
From the SW Gate I walked and lightly cleared the Main SW trail to the Beaver Dam; and up the West Trail adjacent to Chautauqua up to the NW Trail; the Two Friends Trail; and the Cutoff Trail up to East Pond.
Woody debris in this section of the Woods is unusually abundant. I wonder if the periodic flooding may be suppressing decay, rather than facilitating it. It will be interesting to see what species of trees takes over in this section: cottonwoods? willows? sycamore? Each of these would tolerate the flooding that is gradually removing the big bur oaks, green ash and elms.
I also continue to see odd new patches of green leaves just flushed in the past month on elms and other species scattered through the Woods. I'd like to know more about what is going on there, the physiology. Is it a 'mistake' for the tree, or a potential benefit, a means of getting a little more photosynthesis at the end of the growing season?
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