Burnwood Trail Stop 7: A Forest Giant

A graph showing the relationship between tree age and diameter for each tree that was sampled.

Thomas Saladyga

Quick Facts

Location:

38.07757, -81.07836

Significance:

Old-Growth Forest Network

Old-Growth Forest Hike Stop 7 - A Forest Giant

This American beech is the largest tree by diameter and volume along the trail. Unfortunately, this tree couldn’t be dated due to being hollow, but despite its size it may not be as old as it appears. Some large trees are young, and some small trees are old. While larger trees are usually older, this relationship between size and age will not be as consistent with the oldest of trees.

The graph from the study conducted by Concord University researchers shows that the relationship between tree size and age starts to fade once a tree reaches about 200 years old. Oftentimes, the oldest trees are rather small; the oldest tree in this forest is a blackgum off-trail that dated to 1671 but was less than 19 inches in diameter.

The large, spreading branches on this American beech indicates that it could have been growing in more open conditions free of neighboring trees competing for sunlight, allowing for multiple decades of rapid growth. Two American beech trees smaller than this individual were sampled in this forest, each with inner ring year dates of 1829 and 1755 respectively, and the age of this large tree is probably within that range.