Ancient Bald Cypress Forests Black River, North Carolina David W

Ancient Bald Cypress Forests Black River, North Carolina David W. Stahle, University of Arkansas

cypress.uark.edu Taxodium distichum Photos by D. Griffin & D. Stahle Black River Oldest-known living trees on Earth, dated with dendrochronology: oldest continuously living, sexually reproducing, non-clonal species known (update of PM Brown 1996; http://www.rmtrr.org/oldlist.htm) 1. Great Basin bristlecone pine Pinus longaeva California 5,066 2. Alerce Fitzroya cupressoides Chile 3,622 3. Giant sequoia Sequoiadendron giganteum California 3,266 4. Sierra juniper Juniperus occidentalis California 2,675 5. Bald cypress Taxodium distichum North Carolina 2,624 6. Rocky Mtn. bristlecone pine Pinus aristata Colorado 2,435 7. Coast redwood Sequoia sempervirens California 2,200 8. Foxtail pine Pinus balfouriana California 2,110 9. Rocky Mountain juniper Juniperus scopulorum New Mexico 1,889 10. Limber pine Pinus flexilis Utah 1,697

Betty Hole Cove Millennia-old bald cypress Ancient bald cypress TNC Black River Preserve, North Carolina Black River, North Carolina Dendrochronology

Tree-Ring Dating = the most accurate and precise dating method in geochronology

Datum in time, crossdating, massive replication, direct calibration & verification, ‘integrating pluviometers’ (growing season moisture balance)

Stahle et al. 1998: The Lost Colony and Jamestown Droughts. Science 280:564-567. Ancient Forest History

Giant Sequoia Baldcypress (Sequoiadendron giganteum) (Taxodium distichum)

This standard view of forest history omits the many old-growth forest remnants still left across the country, as illustrated in the next image! Sources:

Foreman, D. and Wolke, H., 1992. The Big Outside: A Descriptive Inventory of the Big Wilderness Areas of the United States. Harmony Books, G. Draffan, ed.

Greeley, William B., 1925. The Relation of Geography to Timber Supply. Economic Geography, vol. 1, p. 1-11. Ancient Forest Science !"#$%&'()#*+,-& .#))/0*-1&2%#"-"3"1*)4& 5,33&+"-$,*-&$#))4&"6)#&788&9),#4&"3:;& Eastern species

Western species

all <1720 red = University of Arkansas Black River, North Carolina ‘Three Sisters’ Tract (600+ acres, TNC ownership as of 2018) Scientific value? Faithful proxy of growing season moisture conditions for over 1,000 years:

1.5 Baldcypress growth is r = 0.80 directly correlated with rainfall, in spite of flooded 1.0 habitat. Why? 0.5 Evapotranspiraon demand, Tree Growth Index Tree Dissolved oxygen gradient, 0.0 straficaon of root system, Precipitation flux of water & nutrients…. Southeast precipitaon and cypress growth

r = 0.80

Four Holes Swamp, SC Also see: Stahle et al. 2012: Tree-ring analysis of ancient bald cypress trees and subfossil wood. Quaternary Science Reviews 34:1-15. The North American Drought Atlas Dust Bowl Drought Instrumental PDSI Tree-Ring Reconstructed

1931-1940 1931-1940

Tree-ring chronologies provide exceptional proxies of moisture conditions, in this case the Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI)

Note the spatial fidelity of the tree-ring estimates for the Dust Bowl, the worst drought in 350 years.

Poor land use practices may have aggravated the drought itself and the social impact. Dalhart, Texas, 1938 Dorothea Lange Cook et al. 2004: Science 306:1015-18; Cook et al. 2007: Earth Science Reviews 81:93134; Stahle et al. 2007: Climatic Change 83:133-149. Black River North Carolina

Baldcypress trees over 2,000-year old

5th oldest tree species on earth

Outstanding Resource Water

Re-colonized by wood storks

Ring width chronology:

605 BCE to 2017 (only 372-2010 shown below)

One of the longest in the world

Positive moisture trend since 17th C. Wet 1

Moisture Index Dry -1

Modified from Stahle et al. 1988: Science 240:1517-19. Ancient Bald Cypress Conservation Opportunities:

1 mile

Jordan Burns, 2015 (University of Arkansas) Squires Tract, recently acquired by TNC Black River, North Carolina Rock Hole Cove, not owned by TNC Black River, North Carolina Wilson’s Cove, not owned by TNC Black River, North Carolina Betty Hole Cove, not owned by TNC Black River, North Carolina Ancient Bald Cypress Conservation cypress.uark.edu Ancient Bald Cypress parcels on Black River that are not owned by The Nature Conservancy (and remain threatened):

1. ‘Three Sisters’ Area (the oldest trees, purchased in Dec 2018 and now fully protected)

2. Colvin Cove 3. Rock Hole Cove 4. Wilson’s Cove 5. Betty Hole Cove 6. Aldeman’s Cove 7. Moore’s Creek Cove 8. Narrow Mouth Cove 9. Bird’s Island Cove

10. Several tracts of bottomland hardwoods & bald cypress on the upper Black River

11. And certainly many other stands of remarkably old trees elsewhere on the Black River, the Northeast Cape Fear River, and several other streams in North Carolina, South Carolina, and across the southeastern United States. Three Sisters Area Three Sisters Area

Black River is outstanding! cypress.uark.edu Ancient Bald Cypress Consortium Certainly one of North Carolina’s most Natural & Scenic Rivers, To help support this research with some of the oldest living trees on Earth! please contact: [email protected]