Distribution of American Chestnut (Castanea dentata) in National Park Service Units of the National Capital Region

Matthews, Elizabeth; Riedman, Michael

ABSTRACT: Once a dominant tree species of eastern U.S. forests, American chestnut (Castanea dentata) populations were devastated in the early 1900s by the introduction of an exotic fungal pathogen. The chestnut blight fungus (Chryphonectria parasitica) effectively eliminated the American chestnut as a canopy species throughout its native range, although it persists today as an understory species. Due to its ecological, economic, and cultural importance, various research approaches have been used to develop a blight-resistant chestnut, and after many decades of work, blight resistant trees may soon be available for restoration. Most of the National Park Service (NPS) units of the National Capital Region (NCR) fall within the native range of the American chestnut and may play a role in restoration efforts through research, interpretation, or demonstration plantings. Understanding the current distribution of American chestnuts in the NCR is the foundation for any of these actions. To this end, we inventoried trees in eleven park units in the summer of 2014 and described their frequency with respect to size, presence of blight, reproduction, and associated vegetation types. Most American chestnut trees in the NCR are small (mean dbh = 7.3 cm and mean height = 6.8 m) understory trees, and only a few exhibited signs of reproduction. Approximately 11% of the inventoried trees showed visual symptoms of blight. Chestnuts in the NCR were most frequently associated with U.S. National Vegetation Classification associations that are dominated by oaks (Quercus spp.) and ericaceous shrubs. We anticipate that these results will inform future inventory efforts and may provide guidance for the selection of reintroduction sites.

Distribution of American Chestnut (Castanea dentata) in National Park Service Units of the National Capital Region

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