Day 1: Cathedral State Park

Old Growth Forest

Upon our arrival to Cathedral State Park, it's noticeable that this is a unique place. Noticing the ecosystem one can see the unique understory plants like moss, ferns, and fungus. The canopoy was dominated with hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) trees, with dispersed hardwood trees (e.g. red maple, white oak, american beech) The ecosystem is known as a old growth forest while most other areas across WV are known as new growth forests, due to foresting in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

• How does a old and new growth forest differ in abiotic and biotic factors?
• How does succession differ between a new and old growth forest?

The first field study was to collect soil data and analyze the pH of the soil composition. The first step is to use distilled water and collect a soil sample. Due to the large amount of leaf litter or humus, we had clear four inches before collecting a four inch deep soil sample. The soil sample was transferred to the distilled water, using Vernier Lab Quest software the pH ranged from 3.5 to 4.8 for four samples. According to the data, the soil has an acidity of tomato and orange juice. One reason for this acidity are due to the hemlock needles and the bark.

The second field study was to determine board foot of one of the trees at Cathedral State Park. In a previous post, procedures for determining board foot have been explained. Click here for the data that was inputted to Google spreadsheet to determine beard foot. The tree that we observed was a eastern hemlock with a height of around 50' and circumference of 129". This one tree if taken to market would have made a total $4,610.

Marker (Treatment)

 I was impressed with unique land scape of the old growth forest. The ground was supple under my foot steps as I wondered through the forest. This is due to the amount of leaf litter and humus that has collected over many generations. One question that I wonder, does decomposition take place at a slower rate due to the low acidity of the soil. One of the most unique aspects of the ecosystem is the moss and ferns. These organisms require a constant source of water due to the plant structure and  fertilization process.

On a side not I was able to find what used to be the tallest eastern hemlock in the sate of WV, but due to a lighting strike the tree has fell down. All that is left is a stump of tree that lasted for some 500 years or longer. It's amazing to me to have a tree to live that long.

Check out the Forest & Rail Pics on the page that I created for the trip.

Once was the tallest hemlock