Tree Preservation
Biodiversity and Wildlife
Trees are essential for a healthy ecosystem. Trees store carbon dioxide, emit oxygen, mitigate soil erosion, and create a canopy to prevent excess water evaporation. They support multiple forms of life including microbes, pollinators, and animals.
Healthy forests are those in which there are multiple species living together. The diversity of tree species contribute to an ecosystem in which there is efficient use of resources because a variety of trees collectively have different needs from the environment. A variety of trees will not all require the same nutrient and soil fungi, saving resources for all trees to grow. Specific species of trees may be susceptible to predators, whereas other species will not be touched by the same predator.
The Adirondacks have a wealth of forested land, however these forests are under threat from terrestrial invasive species. Terrestrial invasive species are non-native animals, insects, plants, fungi or other organisms. Terrestrial invasives compete with native species to sustain themselves and have the capacity to eradicate the trees upon which they are feeding or create an adverse environment for tree seedlings to become established. Examples of terrestrial invasives which have been problematic in the Adirondack region include: non-native phragmites (aka: reed grass), yellow iris, bush honeysuckle, beech leaf disease nematode, emerald ash bore, hemlock woolly adelgid and spongy moth, to name a few.
Eastern hemlocks make up about 10% of the forests in the Adirondacks and they can survive on steep slopes and stream banks. This makes them critical in preventing erosion from water run-off and contributing to maintaining healthy water temperatures and water quality. The hemlock woolly adelgid is an invasive species in the form of a tiny insect that is reddish brown or purplish black. The adult insect creates a woolly looking white sac that holds eggs on the underside of the branches of the tree and are present from late fall to early summer. The insects feed on newly developing twigs and on the trees’ starch reserves that are essential for tree growth. The time in which trees decline and die range from 4-10 years. Injecting pesticides will often help with individual trees, however this is not a feasible solution for managing infestations in the forest nor on the shorelines of the lake where poisons can seep into the drinking water.
Removing bird feeders that are situated close to the hemlocks is one thing that people may do to help prevent the spread of this invasive because birds may actually spread the eggs of the woolly adelgid.
To control the emerald ash borer and the hemlock woolly adelgid chemicals are being used. The chemicals are toxic to the lake environment. Scale, another insect, is a bigger issue in our area for hemlocks, yet no one talks about this. Most of the hemlocks on Assembly Point are being decimated by Scale which weakens the tree, allowing other insects and disease to infiltrate.
Mitigation Project to preserve tree population
Tropical storm Irene felled many trees. This is one property where the trees blew down and the roots were removed.
In 2011 Tropical Storm Irene uprooted approxmately 900 trees on Assembly Point. A team of volunteers with donations of seedlings replanted about half that amount mid way on the Point. This is a photo of the replanted trees in fall 2024.
