The whisper of running water can be heard in the distance. As I walk off down the path, my footfalls crunch in the fresh snow. Few people have visited the National Forest since the snow fell; there are almost no tracks and the snow is yet to be packed down by trampling feet. Tall Eastern Hemlocks (Tsuga canadensis) gather together, their age accentuated by the white snow that clings to their needles just as gray clings to the hair of elderly humans. Eastern Hemlocks are patient, surviving in the shade for years and then shooting up once they see their opportunity. These sage-like trees may very well be destined to become the forests’ elders; the patient shade dwellers can live to be nearly 1000 years old. The nearby American Beech tree (Fagus grandifolia) does not even come close with its 300 to 400 year lifespan. Even after they are dead, these hemlocks will continue to shape the forest around them. Conifer logs rot slowly, allowing moss the time it needs to build up along its length. These hemlocks are excellent candidates for future nurse logs, fallen trees that become moss-covered nurseries. The moss and rotting log provide nutrients to the seedlings of pines and other hemlocks. As a result of the decaying hemlock’s careful nursing, the seeds that land in the moss will eventually grow into mature trees standing in a straight line. Long after an elderly hemlock falls, its impact can be seen in the unusual orderliness of the trees that occupy the space it once held as its own. Hemlocks are also persistent. While a hemlock stump rots, it continues to grow new wood. Hemlocks often end up grafting their roots to other trees and this root grafting allows the cut hemlock to continue to try to heal its terminal wounds after it has lost its ability to generate energy on its own. The forest elders I stare at now will continue to shape this landscape for centuries.
Ryan McCrorey