Brandywine Conservancy's Environmental Management Center
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News
Brandywine Conservancy and
Stroud Water Research Center Plant 1200 Trees
as Part of New Reforestation Campaign
Planting Occurred on October 24 in the Laurels Preserve, along the Brandywine Creek
 Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania October 26, 2009 - To kick off an ambitious multi-year reforestation campaign, the Brandywine Conservancy planted 1,200 trees on its 771-acre Laurels Preserve west of Unionville on October 24. Partnering with the Stroud Water Research Center, the Conservancy planted selected tree species in the most sensitive watershed areas. These areas were selected through a computerized mapping program.
Reforestation focuses on water resources, including enhancing water quality, restoring natural flows in the Brandywine, and improving plant and animal habitat. Trees provide food and shelter for life in and around streams, promote absorption of rain into the ground, replenish groundwater supplies, and reduce stormwater runoff and downstream flooding. In addition, tree leaves, branches and roots reduce erosion and prevent excess sediment and nutrients from entering streams during stormwater runoff. Trees also help slow global warming by removing carbon dioxide from the air, storing the carbon and then releasing oxygen into the atmosphere.
Most of the natural forest in the Brandywine watershed was cleared long ago for agriculture. More recently, housing and commercial development have altered the region. The clear-cutting of trees resulted in the loss of many valuable benefits that forests provide to all forms of life. Because much of this cleared land is no longer actively farmed (with the exception of some limited hay production), there are numerous opportunities to reestablish the forests and restore the watershed to health.
The Conservancy's tree planting site in the Laurels will serve a dual purpose. It will also act as an outdoor laboratory where tree growth and survival will be tracked and analyzed by the Stroud Water Research Center. To this end, the nearly four-acre plot has been divided into four planting areas of equal size. A total of 300 seedlings (60 each of five tree species, including white oak, scarlet oak, tulip poplar, green ash, sugar maple) were planted in each section. Half of each species will be 18 inches in height, with the remainder measuring 36 to 38 inches. All will be protected from deer browse and invasive plants with four-foot and five-foot-high tree shelters.
This approach to planting has been designed to address several questions. What is the best size seedling to ensure survival and optimal growth. Among the five species of seedlings selected, which will survive and grow best? What height shelter provides the best protection to seedlings from deer damage?
Answers to these and other questions will determine the nature and success of future reforestation, and the information will be useful to individual landowners interested in reforesting their properties. Using voluntary labor and funding for trees, it is anticipated that this project will plant more than 10,000 trees on Conservancy lands, as well as on eased lands and other private and public properties. The tree planting is funded through TreeVitalize, a public-private partnership funded through the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and the Department of Environmental Protection.
Hillary Holland or Lora Englehart, 610-388-8337,
inquiries@brandywine.org
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For more information send email to emc@brandywine.org, call 610-388-2700, or write to Environmental Management Center, Brandywine Conservancy, P.O. Box 141, Chadds Ford, PA 19317
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