Atlantic White Cedar - Chamaecyparis thyoides (L.) Britton, Sterns & Poggenb. - Specimen Assessment

Atlan c White Cedar Chamaecyparis thyoides (L.) Bri on, Sterns & Poggenb.

Loca on: Ca us Island State Park, Toms River, New Jersey

Final Tree Assessment

Frank Miranda BIOLGY-X 492.67 The Study of Trees UCLA Extension Hor culture Cer ficate Professor: Darlene Pickell Winter 2021

Atlan c White Cedar Chamaecyparis thyoides (L.) Bri on, Sterns & Poggenb.

Loca on: Ca us Island State Park, Toms River, New Jersey

Table of contents Specimen Photos Specimen Classifica on + Characteris cs Ini al Tree Assessment - January 2021 Final Tree Assessment - March 2021 References

Classifica on: Kingdom: Plantae – Plants Subkingdom: Tracheobionta – Vascular plants Superdivision: Spermatophyta – Seed plants Division: Coniferophyta – Conifers Class: Pinopsida Order: Pinales Family: Cupressaceae – Cypress family Genus: Chamaecyparis Spach – cedar Species: Chamaecyparis thyoides (L.) Bri on, Sterns & Poggenb. – Atlan c white cedar

Site + Specimen Characteris cs June 2021 Light + Moisture Condi ons Full Sun, Sandy Par ally wet, satu-

March 2021 Full Sun, Moist, Marsh adjacent

rated soil

Eleva on

3-5 above sea level

No Change

Soil Condi on + Habitat

Coastal Marsh, Sandy, Course, Rocky Soil

Sandy Loam (80% Sand, 20% Clay)

Growth Form

Excurrent, Columnar form

No Change

Crown Class

Co-Dominant with trees in background, adjacent to a supressed growth tree

No Change

Strong Trunk Taper

Majority of foliage in lower 2/3 of tree

No Change

Live Crown Ra o (LCR)

22.5 (Live Crown)/29.25 (Total Tree Height) = .7692%

No Change

Diameter at Breast Height (DBH) Est. Height, Growth Rate, Est. Age Foliage

12.73in

No Change

29.25 Tall, 1 per year, 30 years old

No Change

Not Described

Small Spines, Coniverous, mostly green with sec ons browning subtly, believed to be due to increased salinity. N and P defiency common in species. Species adapta on to absorb Ca, Al,Pb, Sr from wetland waters using high CEC

Branches

Not Described

Green and white fungus present on bark and exis ng wound wood from previously pruned limbs. Lateral branches compact and acute (<45°)

Trunk

Not Described

Bark Damaged by animal or human at base of trunk, Trunk flare, while acute, is buried under built up soil for pedestrian path

Roots

Not Described

While species is known for shallow roots close to water table it is believed root ball is at level of adjacent marsh (- 3’ from grade) and buried by built up pedestrian path

Ini al Tree Condi on - January 2021: Has the tree had a good life or struggled to survive?

I believe this tree had a good life in the beginning and is doing well at this me, but will begin to struggle to survive soon. The tree’s loca on, on the edge of a walking path eroding into a salt marsh, has the poten al for root instability as a por on of the le side of the tree’s roots may not have been well supported so they grew stronger on the path side of the tree. Addi onally, this specimen is known for growing shallow roots, close to the water table or acidic marsh. Since the tree is 2-3 above the marsh and surrounding bay and water table, the addi onal moisture in the soil below is assumed to have caused the tree to develop shallow roots in the por on of the soil that is not oversaturated.

Note: root ball loca on and condi on updated in March, 2021 Analysis While the tree has a strong excurrent form and strong apical dominance, there are also two tree limbs present that are cause for concern as one appears to have included bark and the other does not seem to have a strongly fused branch bark ridge. This will be a cause of concern as it will cause stress on these limbs as they develop. The Limb in ques on; without the strongly fused branch bark, is over the area of roots with eroding soil and could be more likely to overturn. Pruning at this stage would allow the tree to con nue to grow strong, tall and balanced, should the root structure below be stable.

Note: Pruning Recommenda on Modified in March, 2021 Analysis This tree is es mated to be 30 years old. According to the USDA Plants Database, the average stand age rarely exceeds 200 years.

Since the tree has only reached 1/6th of its assumed lifespan, I believe pruning and root monitoring and soil for fica on, where needed, is sufficient care for this specimen.

Note: Care Recommenda on updated in March, 2021 Analysis

Final Tree Condi on - March 2021: While previously I believed this tree to be doing well, Id like to amend this characteriza on and instead note that this this specimen is either in decline or very close to decline. As we know, the specimen is located along the edge of a built up, unpaved walking path connec ng the main land to Ca us Island and bisec ng the exis ng marshland (figure 1). In talking with the park ranger on duty and referencing the Ca us Island Wikipedia page, I found that this path used to flood constantly in winter due to mel ng Ice. In order for the island to be accessible year round, the park service built up this walkway with gravel and sand and compacted it to allow for vehicular access (park vehicles only). I was unable to narrow down when exactly this was completed, but I understand that is it an ongoing process. The soil structure is mostly sand with li le clay at a ra o of about 80/20. This was determined by filling a jar with a small sample of soil and water, agita ng, and allowing the soil layers to separate based on par cle weight. (figure 2). This sample is in line with the USDA forest service handbook, Silvics of North America entry no ng ‘White-cedar [as] grow[ing] on wet ground or in swamps, some mes on sandy soils’.(Burns + Honkala, accessed 2021). This sandy wetland soil is believed to have influenced an adapta on to plant nutrient absorp on where the species is generally nitrogen and phosphorous defiecient but higher levels of Calcium, aluminum, lead, stron um. “These differences indicate differen al uptake and exclusion mechanisms in Chamaecyparis metabolism.”(laderman, Accessed 2021)

Figure 1

Figure 2

With this specimen’s es mated age at 30 years old, it would make sense that the tree was either originally planted, or grew, at a lower eleva on and has since had its trunk flare buried and root system compacted. An adjacent Specimen (also an Atlan c White Cedar) can be seen on its side, having fallen the direc on opposite of the built up path and into the marsh. The level at which the trunk base has se led, with root flare covered, indicates the root flare of the specimen of focus is at least 6 inches to 1 below the surface (figure 3). In the ini al January report I noted the shallow root system that is characteris c of the species. In this follow up I s ll believe the root system to be shallow, just buried deeper under the compacted walkway.

Addi onal history of the park men ons increased salinity in the Barnegat Bay following the digging of the Point Pleasant Canal in 1930. The Atlan c White Cedar is a fresh water species. Salt water enters the Bay which feeds the marsh from the Manasquan inlet, travels down the canal and has been steadily diffusing in the bay between the mainland and barrier islands, killing off the Atlan c White Cedar. (Figure 4). An included salinity report, taken from a Buoy located on Barnegat Bay near the mouth of Toms River: BB04a [NJBuoy 768] shows Salinity of around 17- 20 ppt towards the end of 2020. (figure 5). The effect of the increased salinity is believed to be shown in the browning spines of the foliage.

Figure 5

Figure 3

Figure 4

The Park entry on Wikipedia also notes many dead stands of Atlan c White Cedar visible throughout the park, following increased water salinity. Comparison of the exposed, petrified root ball and trunk flare of an overturned specimen to the live specimen confirms the species has a wide trunk flare that is most likely buried. (figure 6)

Figure 6

In the previous analysis, tree structure was iden fied as having a strong excurrent form and strong apical dominance. The analysis also men oned two tree limbs that were cause for concern for reasons of included bark and fear of overturning due to eroding soil and weakly fused branch bark. This could not be more wrong. From a logic standpoint, either the limb with the weakly fused branch bark would separate from the tree or the limb would grow and cause the tree to overturn. Not both. The limb in ques on with the poten ally weak branch collar is also less than 1/3 the diameter of the main trunk and therefore not codominant. Finally, the earlier discovery that it is highly probable that the trunk flair and lateral roots are buried abates the fear of overturning at this point in me.

Pruning of these two branches would s ll be necessary, but for a different reason. Because the two limbs are growing nearly ver cally at less than 45°, they are not proper lateral or scaffold branches and are growing back into the crown, making for poor crown structure.(figure 7+8). Very minimal, if any dead or broken branches were iden fied in the crown. Quick pruning to remove these would benefit the overall crown structure.

Evidently, some greening with white patches (figure 9 + 10) along the bark of the trunk were originally thought to be cause for concern. The green bark alludes to the possibility of a slight fungal infesta on in parts of the tree while the white patches are believed to be either salt deposits from the air or bird guano. The USDA forest service handbook, Silvics of North America notes the Atlan c White Cedar as generally disease and pest resistant and notes that “Few fungi a ack Atlan c white-cedar, and damage is not usually serious.” (Burns + Honkala, accessed 2021). No recommenda ons for pest management will be made.

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Figure 10

The previous assessment completed recommended pruning, root monitoring and soil for fica on where needed. This assessment recognizes the need for some structural pruning for different reasons, as discussed in previous sec ons. The recommenda on for root monitoring would also be amended to digging out the base of the tree to iden fy if the trunk flare and lateral roots have truly been buried and compacted over the years. No recommenda on for fer liza on will be made ci ng the specimen’s nutrient adapta ons to thrive in Nitrogen and Phosorophus limited wetland environments. Finally, the recommenda on for soil for fica on to support the tree from overturning should be ignored, following the discovery of the poten ally buried trunk flare and lateral roots.

References: Laderman, A.D. 1989. The ecology of the Atlan c white cedar wetlands: a community profile. U.S. Fish Wtldl.

Serv. Biol. Rep. 85(7.21). 114 pp.

Li le, Silas; Garre , Peter W. 1990. Chamaecyparis thyoides (L.) B.S.P. Atlan c white-cedar. In: Burns, Russell M.; Honkala, Barbara H., technical coordinators. Silvics of North America. Volume 1. Conifers. Agric. Handb. 654. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service: 103-108. [13374] NJDEP DWM&S Con nuous Data Monitoring Program [Map]. (n.d.). In NJDEP DWM&S Con nuous Data Monitoring Program. Retrieved March 15, 2021, from h ps://njdep.rutgers.edu/con nuous/ Tirmenstein, D. A. 1991. Chamaecyparis thyoides. In: Fire Effects Informa on System, [Online].

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Sta on, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available: h ps://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/tree/chathy/all.html [2021, March 15].

Wikipedia contributors. (2019, November 1). Ca us Island Park. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved, March 15, 2021, from h ps://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php? tle=Ca us_Island_Park&oldid=924124541