The Albany Pine Bush: a Local Oak Hotspot in Upstate New York

Philip M. Crim

Published May 2023 in International Oaks No. 34: 181–186

Abstract

Oak species are relatively common across much of Upstate New York, with the 12 native species recognized in the flora occupying a cosmopolitan array of environments. Glaciation has left an indelible imprint on the landscapes of this area, and there is a wide range of soil types and ecosystems across the state in the present day. The Albany Pine Bush (APB) is a vestige of this legacy of glaciation; located within the modern Appalachian Valley and Ridge Province, sandy material deposited around glacial Lake Albany was gradually wind sculpted into a series of dunes that remained long after the lake itself drained. These coarse, acidic, sandy surface soils now underlie APB and provide the basis of a modern inland pine barrens ecosystem, among the largest remaining in the world and in sharp contrast to the surrounding terrain. The result is an array of ecological communities, many of them fire dependent, with Pinus rigida Mill. (pitch pine) the keystone tree species in the barrens and an abundance of oak species playing similar roles to those seen in coastal ecosystems across the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern US. Of the 12 native oak species in Upstate New York, 8 are native to APB, and, with the exception of Quercus shumardii Buckley, they all occur in close proximity. Consequently, APB contains interesting combinations of oak species and unusual hybrids, many near the edge of their range, unlike those of almost any other inland ecosystem in North America.

Keywords

Inland pine barrens, Quercus, fire-dependent, oak hybrids

References

Albany Pine Bush Preserve Commission. 2021. www.albanypinebush.org.

Denk, T., G.W. Grimm, P.S. Manos, M. Deng, A.L. Hipp. 2017. An Updated Infrageneric Classification of the Oaks: Review of Previous Taxonomic Schemes and Synthesis of Evolutionary Patterns. In Oaks Physiological Ecology. Exploring the Functional Diversity of Genus Quercus L., Tree Physiology, TREE Vol. 7, edited by E. Gil-Pelegrín, J.J. Peguero Pina, and D. Sancho-Knapik, pp. 13-38. Cham, Switzerland: Springer.

NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). 2022. Climate Data Online Search. www.ncdc.noaa.gov/cdo-web/seach.