The Original Forest Types of Southern New England

Bromley, SW

To reconstruct the appearance of southern New England when the forest was the domain of the Indian, wolf, and rattlesnake is indeed an interesting but difficult problem after the nearly complete obliteration of natural features by more than two centuries of cultivation, grazing, and industrialization. It is the common assumption that most of the country was originally wooded-but what were the forest types, what was the character of the forest, and what were the influences to which it was subjected compared with those of the present day? Obviously, any idea of the original conditions may be gained only through a composite study of the ecology of the present day forest and the meager records of the past. In as much as the original woodlands were destroyed early in the settlement of the country, little light can be shed on the problem of original types by correlating soil or climatic factors with the present associations, composed as they are largely of secondary species or of secondary communities. The historical factors must therefore be given consideration in outlining the original forest types. The present paper deals largely with this phase.

The Original Forest Types of Southern New England

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