Pines Vs Hardwoods....Why Is There Hardwood On Some Areas and Pines on Others?

I decided to write this blog in response to questions I get about trees. I am ask ‘why are there hardwood trees here, why are there pine trees here?’ Generally speaking you will find pines on the ridge tops and hardwoods in the bottom. There are some exceptions to this however. ….past logging practices can change tree species i.e. sometimes a logging contractor will remove pine only! Great questions and a favorite topic of mine. In order to explain we must talk about 3 topics: 1) Shade tolerance  2) Aspect and 3) Water Availability.

Shade Tolerance – This subject was covered in my ‘Forest Ecology’ course and was probably the most interesting course I had. It showed me through scientific terms why certain species grow in certain places. Some areas grow pine best, others grow hardwoods best. Below I have a simple table with species by shade tolerance (this is an incomplete list but still helpful).  In simple terms….shade tolerance is a measure of a tree tolerance to shade. Some trees simply will not grow in the shade. Interestingly, trees are discussed in their ability to tolerate shade NOT sun!!

Shade Tolerant	Intermediate Tolerant	Shade Intolerant
Dogwood	Ash	Pecan
Beech	Oaks	Poplar
Basswood	Hickories	Pines
Ironwood		Sycamore

Water Availability – Bottomland hardwood forests are a type of wetland community found along the floodplains of rivers and streams. The timing, duration, and frequency of flooding play important roles in determining the type of vegetation present in these forests. Bottomland hardwood swamp communities have soils saturated with water much of the time. Pines do not grow in the sites referred to as “poorly drained” in simple terms these are sites where water pools and ponds for long periods of time after a heavy rain event. Typical tree species might be gum, oaks (Cherrybark, Nuttall and Shumard) and bald cypress

Aspect – This refers to the direction of the land in relation to the sun angle. I remember walking a deep hollow in Jefferson County, AL with a hardwood buyer. He ask me…’do you see any difference in the timber here?’  After a moment I noticed the hardwood on one side of the hollow was much better than the other. He ask me to pull out my compass, I noticed the timber on the northeast facing slope was better than the southwest facing slope. WHY? The southwest facing slope is exposed to long hours of hot afternoon sun and the soils get hot and evaporate water quickly. The sites typically grow pines and drought tolerant species like hickories, Mountain Oak and Black Jack Oak.

Well now you have a layman’s understanding of forest ecology. I love talking about and sharing these things as I walk a client through property they are consider purchasing. I have sold lots of property as I engage people in discussions about the flora and fauna of a specific property.

If you are considering buying or selling property, call G. Kent Morris at (706) 457-0090

Why Do Leaves Change Color in the Fall?

I have written about this before, but I just can't help myself..... I love the fall, it's exhilarating, the weather is nice and it motivates one to get outside and enjoy GOD's creation

(courtesy of John Pyle Photography, johnpylephotography.com)

WHAT CAUSES THESE LEAF COLOR CHANGES?  During winter, trees slow down their processes including photosynthesis. There is not enough light or water for photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is the process whereby they take up water and nutrients from the soils and use sunlight to convert them into food for the plant. This all takes place in the leaf. The trees will rest, and live off the food they stored during the summer. They begin to shut down their food-making factories. The green chlorophyll disappears from the leaves. As the bright green fades away, we begin to see yellow, red and orange colors or pigments called carotenoids and anthocynins.  Small amounts of these colors have been in the leaves all along. We just can't see them in the summer, because they are covered up by the green chlorophyll. 

The bright reds and purples we see in leaves are made mostly in the fall. In some trees, like maples, glucose is trapped in the leaves after photosynthesis stops. Sunlight and the cool nights of autumn cause the leaves turn this glucose into a red color. The brown color of trees like oaks is made from wastes left in the leaves.

This is a list of some (but not all) of the trees that provide some of the best color in the southeast United States: Baldcypress, Maples, Black Gum, Sweet Gum, Sourwood, Sassafras, Birches, Redbuds, Hickories and Poplars. Fall colorations adds millions of dollars to our Eco-tourism business with leaf-lookers driving the Appalachians during peak fall season. I have meet many of these good folks on my fall motorcycling excursions with my wife while traveling on the Blue Ridge Parkway. What Fun !!

I have provided a map of the United States which is colored coded showing peak fall coloration for your use. Get out on enjoy the great outdoors!

For Information on Buying or Selling Land contact G. Kent Morris, ALC, RF at      (706) 457-0090

Echo Boomers to cause recovery in Real Estate Market!

This subject is not a typical topic I would write about, however I saw a study done by the National Association of Realtors and thought it was very interesting. Why? Because this phenomena will have huge impacts on the real estate market and will affect everyone. Therefore I thought it worthy to share on my blog.

What is the Echo Boomers? These are the sons and daughters of the Baby Boomers. Interesting there are about 80 million of them, there are only 77 million baby boomers. We all know what a huge impact the baby boomers had on our economy and housing market, so look out….is this the next big real estate bubble?

Let’s look at some charts and facts related to this group.

They are better educated!

They will eventually be the largest segment of the population!

The group is more diversified, less white!

Renters now, but will buy homes later

Thanks to the Echo Boomers, we might expect:

• ·      A general increase of the stock market
• ·      More households will be formed helping to lead a real estate recovery
• ·      Nationally, incomes should rise
• ·      Spending should increase as this group moves toward their maximum income age bracket

No, I do not have a crystal ball, but as groups of people earn more money and spend more money, it fuels the economy and we all know that consumer spending leads to a strong economy!

For Information on Buying or Selling Land contact G. Kent Morris, ALC, RF         at      (706) 457-0090

Chattahoochee River, Origins, Uses and Destination

I wrote in an earlier blog post about the Flint River. I had lots of interest on the subject so I decided to research and write a blog post on the Chattahoochee River.

Chattahoochee River has its source in several headstreams in the Blue Ridge Mountains in northeastern Georgia, U.S. It flows southwestward across northern Georgia to West Point, south of which its course marks the Georgia-Alabama and Georgia-Florida boundaries until it joins the Flint River at Chattahoochee, Florida, after a course of about 436 miles (702 km), where it forms the Apalachicola River. The Chattahoochee is navigable from Columbus to its mouth. The Dept. of Interior has released a tool that lets you map out a river from it's source.

http://www.americanrivers.org/newsroom/blog/sdetwiler-20130726-where-does-a-river-flow.html

In 1953, the U.S. Congress authorized the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint Project to construct 4 dams on the Chattahoochee River for flood control and hydroelectric power generation. The Buford Dam was the first dam constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the Chattahoochee River dam building project. The Buford Dam bridged the Chattahoochee River between Cumming and Gainesville in North Georgia and created Lake Lanier. The Walter F. George Lock and Dam created Walter F. George Lake near Eufaula and Cuthert, Georgia. The George W. Andrews Lock and Dam created Lake George W. Andrews near Columbia, Alabama, and the Jim Woodruff Dam created Lake Seminole in Chattahoochee, Florida.

Uses of the Chattahoochee River include: Drinking Water: The Chattahoochee River system provides drinking water for more than 3.5 million people, including 70 percent of the people in metro Atlanta (approximately 450 million gallons per day). Water withdrawals are by public or private suppliers and are delivered for domestic, industrial, and commercial use.  Wastewater Assimilation: The river carries away, and assimilates, our treated wastewater, however, it is challenged to handle increasing volumes because of its small size, as it flows through metro Atlanta. Approximately 100 public and private wastewater treatment plants discharge more than 250 million gallons per day into the Chattahoochee Basin. Agriculture: The Chattahoochee River Basin’s forest cover consists chiefly of second-growth hardwoods and planted pine. Timber is the leading cash crop in the basin. Total farmland in the basin has decreased since the 1970s, however, poultry production has been increasing during that same period. Crops with the largest harvested acreage include peanuts, corn, soybeans and cotton. Recreation: Because of proximity to the largest metropolitan area in the Southeast, the reservoirs, rivers, and streams of the ACF Basin are heavily used for recreation. In the Chattahoochee Basin, this includes Lake Lanier — the most highly visited Corps impoundment in the country, a cold-water trout fishery below Buford Dam within a federal park, and West Point Lake, downstream of Atlanta. One interesting development is the construction of a 2 ½ mile white water course in Columbus, GA. When completed, it is being reported as the longest urban white water course in the USA. http://columbusgawhitewater.com Power: Power generation is the single largest water use. Sixteen of the basin’s 22 power-generating plants are located along the mainstem of the Chattahoochee River. The first power-generating dam, the Eagle-Phenix Dam near Columbus, was originally constructed in 1834 and reconstructed in 1865 to provide hydropower to the mills.  Navigation: Navigation has been an historical use of the waterways of the ACF Basin from Apalachicola Bay to the Fall Line (Columbus). A series of three navigation locks and dams are operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. In 1946, authorization was provided for the maintenance of a 9-foot deep and 100-foot channel from the mouth of the Apalachicola River to Columbus.

For almost two decades, Georgia, Alabama and Florida have been battling over the future allocation of water in two major river basins that cross their borders.  Georgia wants to have enough water to allow metro Atlanta to continue growing, while Alabama and Florida - the downstream users - want enough water flowing for their own economic well-being.  The dispute involves several federal agencies, courts and mediators, and its outcome is one of the most important environmental issues in the region today.

Each state has its own concerns about the proper allocation of water:

Georgia - As the upstream user, Georgia wants to have enough water to continue growing, particularly in booming metro Atlanta.

Alabama – A downstream user, Alabama is concerned that Atlanta’s ever-increasing thirst for water will severely limit its own use of water for power generation, fisheries and other uses.

Florida - Another downstream user, Florida wants enough freshwater to reach the Apalachicola Bay to sustain its multi-million dollar shellfish industry.

The battle for water and water rights will become more frequent and aggressive as society wrestles with the need for clean water as our population grows! 

For Information on Buying or Selling Land contact G. Kent Morris, ALC, RF at              (706) 457-0090