LAB #7 - Hititchi Experimental Forest

I love the forest and I love hiking. Here is one of my favorite pictures I saw on the Internet.! Well, our field trip was not to THIS forest, but the one we went to was still very nice. We went to HITCHITI Experimental Forest. This field trip was a lot of fun, but definitely tiring! One great thing about the day was the weather - it was perfect!!! :)

Here is a brief background on the Experimental forest, and below that - some pictures I took during the hike!
Here is a Picture I took when we first started hiking:

BACKGROUND ON FOREST:

The Brender Demonstration Forest also known as the Hitchiti Experimental Forest occupies 4,735 acres of land in Jones County, Georgia about 18 miles northeast of Macon at longitude 83 42'30 W., Latitude 33 1'30 N. It lies on the east bank of the Ocmulgee River in the lower piedmont. The areas first known inhabitants were the Hitchiti Indians. They used fire to clear land for planting and to herd game animals during hunts. Through time, timber and cotton were the area’s primary crops early in the twentieth century. However, cotton was short-lived when the boll weevil and an agricultural depression struck. In 1946 the Federal Government established the Hitchiti Experimental Forest that now makes up the Brender Demonstration Forest. Today the Forest is an active research facility of the USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station.

Some of the subjects now under study or demonstration on the Forest include:

• The effects of varying intensities of site preparation on survival and growth of loblolly pine
• Effects of prescribed fire under mature loblolly pine
• Interplanting of Loblolly Pine
• Precommercial thinning of natural Loblolly Pine
• Natural regeneration systems for loblolly pine in the lower Piedmont
• Comparison of Winter & Summer prescribed fires
• Demonstration of methods of site preparation before planting Pine
• Methods for maintaining red-cockaded woodpecker habitat and endangered bird species
• Effects of improper planting of pine seedlings
• Planting of mountain variety of Longleaf in Piedmont of Georgia
• Forest insects & diseases
• Wildlife plantings on utility line
• Proper logging road construction

TREE HUGGING: 

Dr. Rood had us hug a tree during the hike. Here are the pictures of me, as well as 3 other class mates "hugging" a tree:

 

me, hugging a tree :)

TREE-PLAYING:

As usual, some of my classmates, took the Tree to a new level, not only hugging it, but climbing it :)

A COOL TREE:

Here is a picture of a tree, with Exposed Tree Roots. We surmised that it was in soil, but perhaps water moved the soil/dirt away, and left the tree growing with exposed roots:

Here is the CREEK that we hiked to! FALLS CREEK. It was very pretty, and scenic. Two classmates fell in the creek trying to cross over...sorry I did not get a pic of that!!!

WILD GINGER PLANT:

Along the trail, Dr. Rood pointed out WILD GINGER plant. Here is a photo of it:

Wild ginger (Asarum canadense) is a low growing native perennial about 6 to 12 inches high that sometimes is hidden under fallen leaves. Popular with pioneers and Native Americans.Pioneers dried and pulverized the root of wild ginger and used it as a spice or as a cure for whooping cough. Native Americans also used the ginger for a variety of ailments including heart pain and heart arrhythmia. A root tea was used for indigestion, cough, cold, cramps, throat ailments, and nervous conditions. Roots were steeped by the Meskwakis and applied to the ear to relieve ear ailments.

Background information on the Forest  retrieved from:

http://www.gatrees.org/forestmanagement/brender.cfm  

Information on Wild Ginger retrieved from:

http://nature.sbc.edu/fnh/medicginger.html