Dr. Loeb with Radnor Lake Rangers
Excerpts from Dr. Loeb’s letter to Ranger Steve Ward
First and foremost, please accept my heartfelt thanks for the extensive assistance provided by you and the staff of Radnor Lake in support of my research on long-term forest change within the Natural Area site.
Even though I was very focused on the research and only had five days to conduct the field work, one cannot fail to take notice of the fabulous Radnor Lake Natural Area! I have been studying urban woodlands in the eastern United States for 35 years and none come close to Radnor Lake in terms of vegetation community diversity, landscape preservation from ongoing disturbance, visual accessibility to wild animals, and awe inspiring beauty. If it is not obvious, I am smitten by all that the Radnor Lake Natural Area has to offer. As we discussed months ago in planning my visit, I will return in five year intervals to resample the plots I measured last week. But today I hope to perform far more research and provide my thoughts in regard to planning for the future of the Radnor Lake Natural Area.
Extend my applause and thanks to the Radnor Lake staff and the “Friends of Radnor Lake” for the great work they are doing to protect the Natural Area!
My best,
Robert E. Loeb, Ph.D.
Forest Ecology Project at Radnor Lake State Natural Area
Associate Professor of Biology and Forestry The Pennsylvania State University – DuBois Campus
The focus of Dr. Loeb’s research is how forests within cities change over long periods of time. Of special importance to this research is understanding the effects of invasive non-native species and variations in land-use history within a specific urban forest. Radnor Lake State Natural Area has been the subject of two previous studies of long-term change in forest composition (Eickmeier 1988, Schibig 1996), and the history of land use is being examined by Dr. Douglas Heffington of Middle Tennessee State University.
The current research encompassed relocation of the previous plots and resampling in order to determine tree species recruitment and mortality in five forest types: Dry Ridge, Dry Slope, Moist Slope, Ravine, and Lakeshore.
Although data analysis is underway, visual examination of the results indicates one consistent trend: Sugar Maple is reproducing well in all of the forests. The data will be summarized, and the comparison to the past data will be subject of presentations at scientific meetings and a scientific publication. Collaborators on this project are Jesse Germeraad and Laura Griffin of the Biology and Environmental Science Departments of Lipscomb University.
Future research that Dr. Loeb hopes to conduct at Radnor includes the study of the effect of bush honeysuckle on tree reproduction and the effect of the beaver population on the lakeshore forests.
Contact Pennsylvania State University – DuBois Campus
For further information on the PSU-DuBois Forest Ecology Project, contact:
Steve Ward
steve.ward@state.tn.us
Robert Loeb
RXL5@PSU.EDU
Associate Professor of Biology and Forestry
Penn State DuBois
College Place
DuBois, PA 15801