Tom Wessels: Reading the Forested Landscape, Part 2
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- Опубліковано 4 чер 2024
- Part 1 is at • Tom Wessels: Reading t...
Tom Wessels is a terrestrial ecologist and Antioch University New England professor emeritus. He has authored a number of books. If you've read "Reading the Forested Landscape" and "Forest Forensics", you know how skilled he is at interpreting the past land use history clues abounding in central New England's changing forests. Learning to apply the knowledge you gained from those books can be time consuming, however, and you probably find yourself returning to the books often.
In this 3-part series, you'll go into the woods with Tom as he covers many of the topics in detail, providing another opportunity for you to enhance your own "forest forensics" skills.
Some of the topics covered in the three parts: New England's stone walls; pillows and cradles; merino sheep craze ("sheep fever"); forests arising on abandoned agricultural land (past hay field vs crop field vs pasture); signs of past wind, logging and fire damage; reading tree stumps; white pine weevils and multi-trunked pines .
Here in Part 2, Tom teaches us how to understand past logging evidence; he discusses the American chestnut blight; and reveals what a rotting old tree stump can tell us.
Part 1 is at • Tom Wessels: Reading t...
Part 3 is at • Tom Wessels: Reading t...
Also, see this story and others at our blog, www.neforests.com
And be sure to watch "The Ecology of Coevolved Species", featuring Tom, at
• Tom Wessels: The Ecolo...
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A note to users of closed-captions: the captions (subtitles) can be moved to different locations on the screen if they are blocking your view. To move a closed caption, place your cursor on it and drag it. Also, when captions are turned on, there are a number of caption features you can change by clicking on the settings "gear wheel" and selecting "Subtitles/CC", and then "Options".
Please note: you are encouraged to comment and welcome to ask questions, but Tom does not monitor these posts and probably will not personally respond. -Ray
Thank you for this series. fascinating history!
I'm thinking an American white pine is not the same as a Kahikatea white pine that we have in New Zealand.
Hi Tom , love your videos. Do you ever reply to comments?.
Just tell him he’s doing good.
Spending a day wandering the woods with this dude would be surreal!
No, excuse me, but surreal is people exploring under that forest
unknown to sunshine or starlight visits over wooded land.
Because spelean growth is deeper than some people know.
And a similar experience should be a class in school. But they don’t promote that type of thing. That type of thing helps promote self reliance and real education and they don’t like that ;)
@@gdawg4ever119 Huh crazy I majored in Forestry and they taught us a lot of this.
Agree. He's a bit Viktor Schauberger-esque in that he's a really observant, learned woodsman.
@@gdawg4ever119 I took a number of classes with Tom when I was in the Environmental Science program at Antioch New England and they were great.
I have a friend who lives in southern Pa.and she has a full-grown American chestnut tree growing in her backyard. It has been estimated to be close to 400 years old and still produces nuts. She lets some of the nuts sprout in the soil around the mother tree and grow into 12" high seedlings which she then pots up and gives to her friends and visitors to take home and plant them where they live. It is an absolutely amazing tree and hopefully will be the progenitor for hundreds of other chestnuts to follow in her giant footsteps.
Now that is a lovely story!
I would love to grow one! I highly doubt my climate would be good for it though!
There's a big chestnut growing in my county of KY too. The state forest service have been doing plantings for a little while now around the state
I have hunted and trapped my entire life. I thought I had an appreciation and basic understanding of the woods... I was wrong. You sir had my full attention for the entirety of this video and I was amazed at how ignorant I have been while walking the woods. Thank you so very much.
I agree... I didn't know this type of knowledge was available until I stumbled upon one of Tom's videos
hiking for years, greatly appreciated the knowledge dump!
@@AnythingOutdoorswithSteve
*knowledge-share, not dump. A dump is that which is rejected, whereas the info here was *shared.
I remember old men in Appalachia weeping at the recollection of Chestnut trees.
This is fascinating. The pre contact eastern forest must've been a truly wondrous sight to see. It's weird having this nostalgic longing for a place I haven't any hope of ever experiencing as I was obviously born a bit late. 🙂 And too far west.
I get it too. It’s a weird feeling, missing something you have never experienced. It must have been incredible to walk this continent before the 1700’s.
I live in the PNW and I just have this longing to see it before the Oregon Trail, see the locals fishing the rivers, which must've been huge and abundant then, giant forests (a lot of trees are still pretty big here though), with the mountains rising above them all. The area is still quite beautiful but the original landscape must've been amazing.
I'm very happy to hear the American Chestnut will recover. I wish I could live long enough to see them come back full force. I remember hearing about roasted chestnuts as a child and not knowing what they were.
You may not have ever tasted roasted American chestnuts, but just before Christmas, you can often go into the supermarket and get European chestnuts that you can roast. They are a singularly rare treat, and well worth trying. :). Even now, you can still occasionally find some in the supermarket in the cooler section, Alongside fresh produce.
step on one barefoot and youll never forget the mighty chestnut
On Amazon they have them. Vacumn packed. Merchant Gourmet. Mushrooms too. UK.
Yes
I have been hiking in the woods of PA my entire life observing old logging roads, stone walls, old stumps, etc. I thought I knew quite a bit about the history of the woods, but I have learned way more in the last hour watching these videos than I have in the last 40 years. Tom’s knowledge is really amazing. Great videos!
Georgia man here. When I was a kid, I used to come up with ideas about trees like this. I haven't played like that in the woods for decades. I still enjoy seeing moss and disfigured trees. Now, with this series, I will understand a little more of what I'm seeing.
Thanks for posting.
I am speechless in front of the knowledge of this man, and the amount of informations a woodland area retains.
its amazing what you can see once you have the eyes for it eh?
this video is a true treasure i agree
So simple, so genius. Take time, observe, contemplate, understand. 10 stars out of 10.
What an amazing discovery. An accidental click of a mouse and I have found answers to questions I wonder about everyday when I walk in my local woods here in Wales. I'm 68 and still learning. Better than school . Thank you Sir. Looking forward to learning more .
That last tree he spoke about was hella resilient. It took a second for me to even understand what happened before he finished speaking about it. Very cool.
Amazing I’ll never walk thru the forest the same again
Not on your feet I assume.
Careful walking around with your head up. Kudos and enjoy
Agreed
@@jollyjokress3852 I've used my belly to go under low roots
and SRT vertical equipment underground following
roots of surface growth. Re: National Speleological Society,
and presently a 2022 member of the NSS Wyoming Grotto.
Thank you, what a pleasant surprise to listen to somebody who actually knows what he's talking about..
I very much appreciate pure knowledge, no bs, no subscribe, no "today we speak about.... sponsors...". Bless you man, you read the forest like a druid.
We need more teachers like tom ! 👍👍
Your videos are the closest thing I have right now to being in the woods. Due to coronavirus I'm in my small city apartment dreaming of hiking. You've saved me. And I'm learning so much!
Hello Deirdre, thanks for that wonderful sentiment. I guess I’m one of the fortunate ones who can still be out in a natural setting during these trying days (or, months!). It’s gratifying to know that these films are helpful to you. There are more coming, but you’ll be wearing out a pair of hiking boots well before they’re ready, I’m sure. Be well.
-Ray
@@NewEnglandForests I will keep that thought!
I live in a forest in Maine and now I have a lot of new interesting information to think about when I walk through our bit of forest. Fun!
Excellent, clear explanations and photography.
As a forest person myself, I can appreciate this guys knowledge and love of woodland. Every forest has a story to tell if you look at it.
I watched your video with my chesnut tree. It is 4 years old, well taken care of. Right now it grew spring leaves. Chesnut trees have the fastest growing wood of any hardwood trees. It is also why they can get so big. My chesnut tree produces a wonderful aroma that perfumes the air even without flowers. My chesnut tree grew from a chestnut that germinated.
Save it from the blight!!!
Which is where all chestnut trees come from in the wild.
Thanks for a very instructive video, and for the good news on the chestnut!
This man goes into the woods to talk about the forest. Bravo! I am a forestry graduate from Iowa State (a few decades ago) and you can't learn this in the classroom.
I lived in eastern Virginia for about 30 years and now live in Lynchburg, VA. We have mixed hardwood in this area and a walk on the Blackwater Trail system through part of Lynchburg and out onto Percival's Island in the James River looks just like this. This system is well used and more cities would do well to fund and undisturbed, easily accessible area for walking, running and cycling.
I honestly think this "Reading the Forested Landscape" series is the most interesting video I have ever watched regarding our Northeast forests. ALL your videos are great actually. Thanks for putting all the time and effort into this, it's much appreciated by this fellow forest fan in Cattaraugus Country NY.
Ditto
Probably one of the most intriguing subjects ever.
I found this so interesting. He reminds me of a man I used to work with that was a forester in Wisconsin. Learned a lot from him as well
im in the adks and agree, this is a great series and learning so much!
Honestly I never imagined a video about forests could be so interesting or cover such a wide range of adjacent topics.
8:00 "Its hard to imagine trees of that size growing in our forests... and yet they did." What a powerful and unfortunate quote. To our forefathers the new worlds forests were vast and endless.
This type of knowledge is priceless. So much respect !
it's crazy how a forest can be connected and almost like one super organism =)
I share your sentiment. This is fascinating. It is truly amazing how interconnected the life in a forest is, especially when someone like this gentleman helps one see the connections clearly. I am not sure that you needed an almost in your statement!
As a New Englander, I just love and appreciate the information shared here. It's so clearly and well explained. Just enjoyable. Would love to walk the woods with Tom. With much gratitude.
So clearly described with no fluff. Thank you.
Fascinating. I have been watching one piece of forest grow and change for 50 years. I have learned a lot about forests and tree growth, just from observing. You have confirmed things that I thought and shown me much more about it. My bit of rocky forest looks exactly the ones that you show, except that I have never seen such large birch.
I spotted rings of oaks and figured that they had been logged. What's bothered me is all of the trees dying.
This video series is a dream come true. Tom Wessel's books were an eye opening experience for me, but I find these videos to be even more easy to digest. They seem to enter my brain in a different way than the written word and book illustrations. Now these videos will surely get me visiting the books again with more of an underlay on which to build additional knowledge. There is so much to take in!!
My current favorite activity is to practice my guitar fingerpicking patterns endlessly and mechanically as I watch this. I already feel things getting better in that department too! LOL!
Supposed to be finishing a research paper for an English writing class but I can't get enough of this content! so incredibly knowledgeable!!! I love just listening and learning. Oh how I would pay to see this in person...
Don't worry Nate, we won't tell the English prof. :)
I started watching this video thinking it would be a good prompt for a nap, as I find certain UA-cam videos such as knife making and Wood lathe project videos fairly quickly put me in a drowsy mood.
To my surprise, on what I would have thought to be a relatively mundane topic, this video was actually pretty fascinating and kept my attention for the entire nearly 20 minutes. I subscribed to the channel as a result, even though it meant that I’m probably going to have to wait until bedtime before I get any sleep today.
I loved this journey. You're a good speaker too! 😃
Another great lesson about woods.
Great video! As a dry stone wall builder for 25 years in New England I have read every book and article I could get my hands on about the history of dry stone walls in New England, so this information really helps me connect some dots that I have puzzled over for many years while out trying to decipher the history of the woods. Here in Maine the snow will be gone in a few weeks and I can't wait to use some of what I've learned from these videos to get closer to understanding the past. Thank you!
I don't know how many times I have watched this and these vids . I love it / them. Simply the best. Eternal thanks
I can't believe it took me this long to discover all of these wonderful videos! Growing up in rural Southeastern Massachusetts I've always been fascinated by the forest. Tom is one of the most brilliant narrators I've ever heard... In addition to his clear mastery of the subject matter! I'm looking forward to watching them all!
You are awesome! Knowledge is beautiful. Passing that knowledge on.....even better! Thank you
This is so amazingly interesting! I will never see stumps the same way! Thank you!!
These videos are awesome. Nothing better than listening to an expert’s wisdom
This should be mandatory curriculum in public schools. We need to understand and be able to interpret--and utilize--the information that land is presenting to us.
Fascinating ! Loved this. I will review all other videos. Thanks.
Wonderful that this incredibly rare knowledge is documented for future generations.
Thank you. Your information was very informative. There is nothing like walking through the forest. So many beautiful trees and plants to see.
Awestruck at his ability to see back in time like that
I so wish this type of video could be done for the west coast, specifically the Pacific Northwest. This is amazing content. Thank you for doing this series.
I’m sure a lot of it is the same. Like seeing where logging or farming was done. You would have to adjust the winds since most of the winds would be blowing from the west (like for hurricanes possibly of other big storms), but most of it would be applicable to every forrest.
I have wandered around in woods and small stands of trees as far back as I can remember... grandad would go walking for mushrooms.
These videos are the most dense information I have probably ever taken in. Lots of little things over years, and a lot of things I have seen and wondered why. Thank you for these videos they are much appreciated knowledge to be shared.
Wow! I have read many books about American woodlands and this video shows how important it is not to clear the forest because it is the fallen trees and stumps that rejuvenate it, while sustaining shrubs, perennials and groundcovers too. You see so many forested areas literally die out from no understory. Excellent series!
Holy cow. Three minutes into this and I will never look at the forest the same way. Haven’t thought of this in years but I remember being in a wilderness area within the George Washington National Forest, seeing a series of opposing scars on the base of trees and wondering what exactly had caused them. I know the area was once logged and marks from dragging trees out makes perfect sense now that I hear it. The area was so overgrown I just didn’t think of manmade marks, though they were almost certainly left before I was born!
This video is like listening to an experienced forensic scientist take you through analysis of crime scenes.
Great video...This is the type of thing that should be taught in schools
The Chestnuts that were growing out of the remains of an older tree..How amazing is that?
Thank you Sir
Very interesting. I live in a log home that is made up of Chestnut in the highlands of NJ. Beautiful large logs I'm taking were part of this salvage. There are many Chestnut log homes in my area that were vacation homes turned into year-round homes.
I have found five or so different locations in the catskills that have chestnuts still growing. None of them are giants though. I'll have to go back and see if they are dropping seeds and if they are re-sprouting from old roots.
When I saw the thumb nail I assumed it was going to be about the way Indians marked certain things in the forest. Very interesting to watch and learn from from you. Thanks for sharing
This is so cool! Never knew Chestnut Trees got that big! ~thanks!
Wonderfully insightful stories and instruction on reading the forested landscape. Here's to more excursions.
Thank you thank you thank you for putting out valuable content like this! Brilliant!
Love this…. You are the Bob Ross of eco… learning so much and making it easy to understand . Ty
Has Tom Wessels ever had the chance to meet with Bernd Heinrich? I like the idea of the two of them walking the woods together. They both seem to have such beautiful mycelial minds.
Wow This man knows his trees. I love walking in the forest and knowing by looking and the trees and landscape what happened in the past but he takes it to an expert level. I would love to join him on a hike. I hope he is right about the American Chestnut tree making a comeback.
I lived in Charlton MA. most of my life and behind my house was a tree with a branch that grew into a tree right next to it connecting the trees. It looked natural to both trees. But upon close inspection you could tell what tree it was first part of before joining the two trees. Never seen this before and i spent my life in the woods. Love the nature and wonder of the trees/plants.
My son, who is six, loves things like that. Every time he sees trees that have grown together he gets excited and points them out. Once he spotted two trees that were intertwined while we were driving and asked me to stop. I couldn’t just then, or the next couple of times we passed the place. Finally, we were driving back from an appointment and though it was well below freezing we didn’t have to be anywhere so I pulled off the road. He gets out and goes bounding away through the park. When I catch up, he is standing next to two intertwined trees, that look like two people embracing. I say “wow that’s neat.” He punches me in the leg and says, “that’s you and mommy in the kitchen” and runs off back to the car. He had been saving that punchline for a while.
I have hiked woods all over the US, and as rewarding as each experience is, having this gentleman along the trail would be priceless. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and passion.
Wow! This is incredible stuff! I have spoken with lots of foresters, but I have never heard of root grafting between deciduous and coniferous trees.
I love how he makes you see that everything is interesting in its own way
Absolutely love this series. Thanks so much for sharing.
Thank you SO MUCH for sharing your incredible wisdom!
This series is OUTSTANDING! I am now very excited to watch other New England Forest Channel documentaries.
marvelous. many thanks for your educational efforts!
Thank you to the creators of the video and Tom for putting this level of education out. This is all fundamental information we all should understand about the places we live in and manage as systems within a landscape. What an incredible knowledge resource, and I am in a completely different eco region!
What a pleasure it was to watch and listen to.
Always enjoyed the forests, but Ill never look at them the same again, in a positive way of course
My dad is a forester in Mississippi so I grew up surveying, marking and cruising timber. Never been to New England but I thoroughly enjoy your videos. Wish I could find someone who makes similar videos in Pacific Northwest forests as that is where I now reside. Thanks!
From someone new to the region who’s getting to know the woodlands before the townships, I thank you👍🏻
Hi William,
Welcome to the region, it has a lot to offer. Tom Wessels has done a masterful job interpreting our forests, and this film is packed with great information. I hope you enjoy it and will be able to spend time in the woods applying the knowledge gained.
Ray
This is incredible. Its amazing that I've never learned about this. Truly inspiring...
The lines in the callus wood is a pretty awesome fact! I will use that in my woods to get a better idea of the history. We are in the remnants of an oak savanna (no pines whatsoever), and a lot of our trees have stumps that last a very long time like white oak and black locust. We are doing our best to restore the oak savanna, so I find this video series fascinating! Our woods was hit by the emerald ash borer about 15 years ago, and we have stump sprouts of the as all over the place - as well as the last of the standing deadwood. We are out of the original range of the American Chestnut, but I planted blight resistant seed from the American Chestnut Foundation and have three that survived. I just splinted one on my UA-cam channel - the top of an ash killed by the emerald ash borer fell on it and pinned it to the ground 😐
Wow just found this channel. I never knew forest forensics even existed. I immediately went and purchased your book on Kindle. Thank you!
Dude - They have TREES in Oregon !! Big trees. Lots !
Do we have an Oregon Tom Wessels ?
I am loving these videos sir! Thank you! I am sharing with my friends and family.
Kept getting this recommended, never clicked because I thought a video about trees wouldn't be that interesting or stuff I already know. Boy was I wrong, now I want to go out in the woods and apply these techniques!
Children should be taught this gentleman's valuable information, they'd learn the value of forestry and what could benefit their children's future.
Really wonderful three part series, Professor Wessels. Reminds me of some of my Botany classes as an undergraduate at Clemson.
Wow. Awesome. Feel like I just saw an interview with Tree Beard himself. Subscribed!
How amazing it must be to be able to not only walk, enjoy, and appreciate the forests, but to also be able to see their stories 💙. Thank you!
Hi Kyrie... and now, practicing what Tom has taught, you can too!
-Ray
@@NewEnglandForests I'm certianly going to try!
That's great, walks can be so much more rewarding when you take the time to look at details in the forest around you. Have fun! And let us know what interesting things you find; you might inspire others to get out there and learn more too.
Thank you so much for this information. Very interesting and helpful!
Thank you for sharing your knowledge!
These videos are awesome! Thank you! 10/10 will watch again!
I've wondered the woods of the highlands of the Mid-Hudson Valley since i was a kid old enough to go outside on my own (7 or 8) and I have seen all of the things Mr. Wessels talks about.
So nice, fifty years on, to know the meaning behind what I've seen.
Sincere thanks for the knowledge dump!
Glad to know future generations may possibly be able to see such trees again.
Very good insight. Thank you.
WOW! Really amazing to learn about stump sprouting and how resilient tress can be. Thank you for sharing!
Check out the ring of stump sprouts that sprouted up after the felling of the John Muir redwood in California. It’s amazing that redwoods logged hundreds of years ago are still alive and kicking. They are incredibly difficult to kill
Extremely interesting. If you ever get a chance come and have a look at some of our remaining Australian forests, they're interesting places too. Some are so thick that if you went in six feet no one could see you.
This video is a gem for bonsai entusiasts.
Thank you.
wow another gift from our neighbors. the dimise of the chestnut. thank you over seas.
One of the most interesting things ever. I have no use for the information, but it's still cool.
This was the most interesting video I watched in a very long time! I am so happy there is more.
Oh my, you are very smart and I'm so glad I've found you as a resource. Thank you for what you're doing. How refreshing to find this topic and to start a new learning experience!
Disease wiping out entire tree species is such a sad thing to experience. In my area most if not all the ash trees are dead, the butternut are dying and buckthorn is taking over.
It's just not enough to leave nature alone anymore and if not actively cultivated it, then many species don't stand a chance
Ripa, you’re right that it’s a sad situation. We see the same thing in MA. I would just suggest caution though. We must be much wiser about “managing” forest lands. Constant disturbances that expose soil, and let more sunlight reach the forest floor are just what non-native, invasive species (eg, buckthorn) need to get started. Our unmanaged old growth remnants are the best forests for keeping invasives out.
What incredible insights! I walk in the woods all the time and apparently I've been completely oblivious to most of the signs.
What a gift to share his knowledge with us!
A lot of information to digest!
I agree about the chestnut. It will develop resistance. I've seen old chestnut logs here in the NC mountains and burs with seed.
Most rot-resistant wood I've ever witnessed.