Dear forest scientists, I'm involved in a rather interesting project here at Penn State, and thought I'd pass along some info to see if anyone out there in computerland would have any thoughts or experience on the subject. First, some background. All through the 1800's and into the early 1900's in the Northeast US, the charcoal-iron industry was operating. Iron ore would be placed into large, stone, open-topped furnaces (some of which still dot the landscape) along with lime and charcoal, and the molten iron would be collected out the bottom. The iron companies would make their own charcoal to fire the furnaces from the surrounding forests. These forests were clearcut at about 40 year rotations for 100 to 150 years. Up to 20 cords of wood were stacked in a conical pile, covered with soil, and burned slowly for 2 weeks to produce charcoal. Since it was easier to transport charcoal than wood, this coaling process occurred all throughout the countryside, where ever the timber was cut. Today, these "charcoal hearths" can be found quite readily, sometimes several of them within only a few acres. The hearths are recognized as being flat, circular or elliptical areas about 10-15 meters across. Kick away the duff and one can see the charcoal residue and black soil. Vegetation surveys indicate that most tree species are very under-represented on these hearths. In fact, most of the hearths have no woody vegetation at all. The soils are up to 70% organic matter from charcoal dust and fragments. Tissue-water relations suggest that trees may be water stressed, despite greater water holding capacity of the soil. Other early test results suggest that there may be a Mn toxicity. My question is, does anyone out there have any experience with the effects of charcoal (perhaps from frequent wildfire) on vegetation? Any suggestions as to what may cause (possible) water stress in the plants or the heavy metal toxicity? I look forward to any discussion this might produce. Mark Kubiske < MEK104@PSUVM.PSU.EDU > School of Forest Resources Penn State University
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