Conclusions

Answers to the three questions:

  1. Can the location of a tree tell us whether it is a Big Grove survivor?

    Yes, historical maps can be used to tell us that all three trees studied here were within the Big Grove.

  2. Can tree age be used to tell us whether a tree is a Big Grove survivor?

    Yes. At ages of 165, 179, and 173 (Crystal Lake Ash, Track Bur Oak, and Entrance White Oak, respectively), these trees are too old to have been planted but not old enough to have been mature climax trees in the original grove. But they are Big Grove survivors in the sense that they are first-generation progeny of the original trees.

  3. Can the growth history of a tree tell us whether a tree is a Big Grove survivor?

    Yes, because it can tell us when the Big Grove was cut. The growth patterns of two of the trees suggest that they were "released" from competition around 1871. The dates of cutting of the Crystal Lake Park area of Big Grove are not known exactly, but must have been in the second half of the 19th century. The growth patterns are thus also consistent with the studied trees being the progeny of the original forest giants.

Additional thoughts and suggestions:

  1. In the interest of preserving our local history and environment, trees that fall or must be cut down should be photographed, measured, ring-counted, and recorded. Each cut tree carries unique and irreplaceable ecological data that cannot be recovered once the tree is recycled.
  2. Even simple snapshots of stumps and cut logs taken with a cell phone camera can provide useful data.
  3. The local planting of trees grown from acorns from Big Grove survivors should be encouraged.
  4. All told there may be hundreds trees in northeast Urbana that are roughly the age of the three trees studied here. Because some old trees are not especially large, a few true presettlement trees may be hidden among them.
  5. Big Grove survivor trees, even "children", should be a source of civic pride, to be recognized in Urbana's Legacy Tree Program.