BLM descriptions. Since the brass cap can easily be covered up by Mosses and lichens cover trees, logs, and branches. Coarse Stations Along The Trail vegetation, large trees are chosen for location markers. The woody debris is abundant. Canopy openings are large, and Know Before You Go Station 1: The Late Seral Stage Amenities include a picnic area with barbeque grill, a scenic yellow sign on the bearing tree describes the distance and the earlier stages of succession are present in small pockets The Bureau of Land overlook with shelter, a visitor reception area with interpretive direction to the cap. There are two visible western redcedar throughout. Travis Tyrrell Management harvested displays, restroom facilities, plant identification signs, and “bearing trees” located here. this area in 1947, leaving Station 9: Windthrow parking. There are no fees at this site. Seed Orchard large seed trees to naturally Station 5: Log Jams & Nursing Logs Windthrow is an event where trees are blown over by large regenerate the area. The An old growth Douglas-fir tree has fallen across the stream. gusts of wind, literally ripping them out of the ground. It is The orchard is usually open Monday through Friday (8:00 tree stumps scattered The decaying bark now nurses the growth of plants and tree characterized by fallen trees with large root wads sticking out a.m. to 4:30 p.m.), but it is recommended that visitors call throughout are remnants of seedlings. Log jams also create shade and stream structure. of the ground. Trees that have fallen over due to laminated ahead. Forest this past harvesting, taking The small ponds created by the log jam provide habitat root rot, a naturally occurring disease that eats away the many years to decompose. for fish, frogs, salamanders, and other aquatic life. Fallen roots of conifers, will have similar characteristics. Standing Succession Trail The canopy is tight with branches and trees are called coarse woody debris and are very trees with root rot often appear healthy, but are actually Orchard Rules and Regulations • only small amounts of important components of forest ecosystems. Coarse woody unstable and can easily be knocked over with a gentle breeze. Camping is prohibited. • sunlight seeping through. debris provides habitat for animals and insects, and as it Windthrow and root rot are distinguished by the angle of the Pets must be leashed and under the control at all times. • The understory is full decays it puts nutrients in the soil. fallen trees. Windthrow trees lie in one direction determined Fishing is prohibited. • of shade tolerant shrubs by the wind direction of the storm, but trees with root rot fall Open fire in designated barbeque grill only. Never leave

aggressively competing for Station 6: Lighting Tree randomly in any direction at any time. fire unattended. space and light, and the intermediate canopy is beginning to On July 17, 1995 a thunder storm passed over the orchard. • Discharge of firearms, firecrackers, or other fireworks is layer with deciduous trees. Lighting struck an old growth Douglas-fir above the trail, Station 10: Underground Streams prohibited. ripping out the side of the tree. A large piece of wood speared If you listen closely, you will hear water trickling. There is a • After traveling through a closed gate, close it behind you. Station 2: Springboard Stumps into the ground below the trail. A short path to the lighting naturally occurring underground stream beneath you. A large • Littering is prohibited. Stumps like this one are remnants of the days when trees tree lies 50 feet ahead. If conditions had been right, a wildfire amount of debris has built up here over time, creating a natural • Do not disturb plants or wildlife. were cut using human power rather than chainsaws. Using a may have started. Wildfires can be beneficial to forest bridge over the water. As the stream moves through the crosscut handsaw, it was extremely difficult to cut trees close succession. They accelerate decomposition or the breaking ground, it becomes naturally filtered and purified, improving Directions to the Site From Eugene, Oregon, travel west on the Beltline Highway to to the ground, where the wood is dense and the trunk is wider. down or decay of organic matter, consume understory debris, the quality of the water. West 11th Avenue. Turn left on West 11th Avenue and follow To overcome the problem, loggers cut notches above the flared and germinate dormant seeds. Fires also increase the amount to Bailey Hill Road. Turn right onto Bailey Hill Road which base and inserted several “springboards” on which to stand of available space and sunlight, allowing new plants to Station 11: Mid Seral Stage becomes Lorane Highway and travel 12.5 miles. Turn left while they cut. The stump that remained was much taller than establish themselves. This stand was harvested and planted in 1980. Douglas-fir those left by the present day mechanized falling techniques. grows its fastest at this stage, shading out deciduous trees, onto Territorial Road and continue 6 miles to the town of Station 7: Early Seral Stage shrubs, and other plants. This area was thinned in 1993, Lorane. Turn right onto Siuslaw River Road and proceed 3 Station 3: Riparian Zones This stand was harvested in 1992 and replanted with superior reducing the number of trees in the stand to 179 trees per miles to the Tyrell Seed Orchard located on the right side of Riparian zones occur along the banks of natural courses of Douglas-fir seedlings. Plants and shrubs blanket the ground. acre, which decreased competition and accelerated the growth the road. Eugene District water. They are defined by a strip of deciduous trees and lush Scotch broom, blackberry, and vine maple create wall of of the remaining trees. Thinning operations imitate the understory vegetation. vegetation and aggressively compete with Douglas–fir and historical role of regular, low intensity fires, which speed up These zones sustain other conifer seedlings. A bat box, which houses up to 400- forest succession by reducing the competition for light, water, District Contact Information an abundant diversity 500 bats, is also located here. Bats are beneficial to the nutrients, and space. Today most wildfires are suppressed of plants and animals. orchard because they eat for property protection and Travis Tyrrell Seed Orchard Moisture dependent plants insects that cause Douglas- public safety. Bureau of Land Management usually not found in other fir cone damage and seed 26350 Siuslaw River Road areas of the forest thrive loss. Station 12: Late Seral Stage Lorane, OR 97451 here. Riparian zones This area was harvested in can be observed at each Station 8: Old Growth 1957 and has just entered wooden bridge. In the Seral Stage the Late Seral Stage. The (541) 683-6445 fall, Coho salmon and This area represents Douglas-firs are growing close cutthroat trout swim in the climax stage of together, creating a closed www.or.blm.gov/eugene the stream beneath the forest succession. It is canopy. Species diversity is bridges. characterized by broken relatively low. Eventually tree tops, standing dead some of the Douglas-firs Public Lands USA: Station 4: Bearing Tree trees (snags), multiple will fall, increasing diversity Use • Share • Appreciate This tree bears the location of a brass cap corner marker, species layering, and through canopy layering and a surveyed geographic monument used in legal mapping massive Douglas–fir trees. understory regeneration. BLM/OR/WA/GI-05/033+1122.32 The Forest The Early Seral Stage occurs following a disturbance to Succession Trail 15 years old and is often referred to as the Pioneer Stage. at Tyrrell Seed Disturbances that could initiate this stage of succession Welcome to the Orchard is a include landslides, fire, timber harvest, and wind storms. self-guided trail Plants that thrive in this phase take the opportunity to grow that provides and reproduce fast and are therefore called opportunists. They Fort Succion visitors with an scatter their seeds widely and quickly take over large areas. In opportunity to this stage, Douglas-fir seedlings must aggressively compete pass through with shrubs such as vine maple and blackberry for space and Trail at Travis the various light. stages of forest development, ranging from a recently planted reforestation stand to an old growth grove. Forest succession The Mid-Seral Stage occurs from 16 to 45 years old. Douglas- Tyrrell Seed is the gradual replacement of one plant community by fir and other coniferous trees such as western redcedar and another until a stable climax community is reached. A plant western hemlock begin to grow above the shrub layer and community is a collection of plants that require the same create a canopy of shade. Plants, shrubs, and weak trees no OrchardThe Travis Tyrrell Seed Orchard is ntled on the conditions for growth (e.g., soil, elevation, moisture, sunlight). longer receive enough sunlight and die off. Relatively few eastern side of the Oregon Coast Range in the Siuslaw The trail is .75 mile long one-way with benches for resting shrubs remain on the forest floor and competition for light and along the way. Various trees and plants along the trail are space is fierce among the conifers; only the fittest will survive. River Valley, 20 mil southwt of Eugene. The labeled for easy identification, and the stations referred to in Eugene Distri Bureau of Land Management (BLM) this brochure are clearly marked with wooden signs. On the The Late Seral Stage, which takes place from 46 to 80 years manag the 500 acre orchard for the production of Forest Succession Trail, visitors will enjoy a scenic hike and old, is characterized by canopy layering and understory conifer seeds with superior characteristics in growth, observe wildlife and aquatic species while learning about the restoration. Canopy layering refers to the formation of an form, and/or disease ristance. The seed is sown in stages of forest succession, native plants, and natural forest intermediate canopy beneath the large overstory conifers. nurseri to produce seedlings that are used by the processes. The intermediate canopy contains smaller deciduous trees Federal government and private compani to replant like Pacific dogwood, chinquapin, and maple. Deciduous While at the Travis Tyrrell Seed Orchard, visitors can also trees lose their leaves in the fall, unlike conifers which retain areas following timber harvt and environmental enjoy the other educational opportunities offered on site. The needles throughout the year. Understory restoration is the disturbance. The majority of the seed produced is tree arboretum and demonstration area contain over forty trees growth of plants on the forest floor. Most of these plants Douglas-fir. Future seed production may include native to the western United States with each species labeled are shade tolerant, meaning they can survive without direct wtern redcedar, incense cedar, Port-Orford-cedar, for easy identification. The self-guided auto tour provides sunlight. Species diversity is higher in this stage than in the wtern hemlock, grand fir, Sitka spruce, knobcone pine, visitors with a close-up view of seed orchard management in previous stages, and the coniferous trees continue to grow Jeffery pine, wtern ite pine, ponderosa pine, and the Pacific Northwest. Displays in the visitor area of the seed bigger and stronger. shore pine. The purpose of the Tyrrell Seed Orchard is to orchard office teach visitors about seed orchard management, increase fort productivity, improve fort health, and forest genetics programs, and plant identification. Visitors can The Mature Seral Stage occurs from 81 to 195 years old. In even learn from the landscaping surrounding the office, which this phase, openings in the canopy increase as some large maintain genic diversity within the fort. is signed for easy identification. Douglas-firs die of windthrow, disease, and other natural causes. The openings created in the canopy allow shade The Travis Tyrrell Seed Orchard is usually open Monday intolerant plants to mature and multiply. Western hemlock through Friday (8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.). We recommend that and western redcedar grow larger, capitalizing on the growing visitors call ahead. space created by the fallen Douglas-firs.

The Old Growth Seral Stage takes place in forests 195+ years Stages of Forest Succession old. This is also referred to as the Climax Stage because the The five main stages of forest succession are Early, Mid, Late, forest has reached a relative peak in succession. However, Mature, and Old Growth Seral. Seral refers to a collection the earlier stages of succession are occurring in areas where a of plants and animals in a temporary phase of ecological disturbance has been created by wind, flooding, and disease. succession. The stages defined below are for the Douglas- Massive, old growth Douglas-fir tower above a layer of fir/red alder/vine maple community, which consists largely of shade tolerant western redcedars and hemlocks, and a layer Douglas-fir with other trees such as red alder, big leaf and vine of shrubs persists where light is available. At this stage, the maples, western redcedar, western hemlock, and Pacific yew forest ecosystem is very complex and species diversity is at its scattered throughout. highest.