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Aullwood's Woodlands

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Because Aullwood Audubon Center and Farm has been used in so many ways, the woodlands are varied. As you walk through Aullwood you can read the landscape with a little help. Reading the landscape is a skill that only grows with experience. Look for Mary Thielgaard Watts books on the subject.

North Woods
This area between the Center and the Farm was grazed when Aullwood was a farm but the bigger trees were not cut. Tall old oak, tulip tree, ash, sycamore, American beech, and sugar maple trees tower over young maples, black cherry, pawpaw, hop hornbeam, and American hornbeam. In spring the ground is carpeted in wildflowers such as bloodroot, harbinger of spring, Virginia bluebells, large flowered trillium and many others.

Wet Woods
This small section of seasonally wet woodland was enhanced by diverting a nearby spring flow into and through it. This spring flow keeps the area wet enough for skunk cabbage, marsh marigold and other water loving plants. The elevated gravel trail was placed through the woodland around 1967. The wet woods is just south of the Center Prairie.

Evergreen Plantings
Scotch pine, white pine and Norway spruce trees near the Wet Woods were planted as 3 year old seedlings in 1960 by the Girl Scouts. Evergreen woods near the farm were planted in the late 60s. These non-native trees provide protective cover in winter for birds and other small wildlife. In time, native trees will take over the plantings.

Second Growth
Many areas at Aullwood have been allowed to heal since their use as farmland from the early 1800s until 1957. Pioneer species of trees such as redbud, buckeye, black cherry, hackberry, black and honey locust, pawpaw, hornbeams as well as the climax species appear in these areas. Old field and pasture trees persist in some areas. They include Virginia juniper and hedgeapple. Exotic plant invasion is a particular problem here. Bush honeysuckle is our main nemisis.

Sugar Bush
North of the farm, a small woods was kept in large sugar maples by previous owners. In late winter we tap the largest maples to produce syrup of excellent quality. Sadly an age gap of several years may stop production early in the next century. Young trees were not allowed to start annually to fill in the gaps left by the inevitable death of maples after their one to three century lives. Aullwood has planted sugar maples in hopes that their rapid growth in open fields will help to fill the gap.

Hedgerows
Between many of the farm fields and along the roads at Aullwood's border are narrow, brushy hedgerows. These spaces are an important resource for some nesting birds. They are also runways some species use to travel to new areas. Many plant species contribute to these tangled little sanctuaries. Fruit rich grapevines, poison ivy vines, and other fast growing plants thrive in the narrow sunny spaces below the trees. Two non-native plants, multiflora rose (unwisely planted on field edges) and bush honeysuckle can spell trouble in hedgerows.

When the first European explorers ventured west of the Appalachian Mountains into the region which would become Ohio, they encountered a land covered by a vast primeval forest. Never had these early wilderness travelers encountered such a magnificent grandeur of hardwood trees. Many were overwhelmed by the immense size of the trees, some of which towered to heights of over 150 feet. They were equally impressed by the rich diversity of tree species in this vast forest which included oaks, hickories, beeches, maples, walnuts, tulip trees, elms, chestnuts, ashes and many others.

Early land surveys conducted in the late 1700's reveal that Ohio was once covered by nearly 95 percent mature forest. The forests of the rugged, unglaciated hill regions of southern and southeastern Ohio were predominately mixed oak and hickory. Beech and hemlock forests often appeared in the cooler gorges of this region. Much of the central, western, and northern portions of Ohio were covered by forests dominated by beech and maple which grew best in deep, well formed soils. Swamp forests dominated by elm and ash were found growing on the floodplains of the river valleys.

Today, forested areas cover approximately 30 percent of Ohio's landscape. The once grand forests of Ohio's past have long since disappeared to make way for the fields, farms, highways, and cities of an ever expanding human population. In some western counties of the state where agricultural production is rich, remaining forests cover as little as three or four percent of the land. In the hilly and less productive regions of southern and southeastern Ohio, the land may be covered by more than 70 percent forest. Virtually all of Ohio's existing forests have been altered by human activity. Only a few untouched stands of mature trees where the forest ecosystem is still complete can be referred to as "old growth" forest.

A forest ecosystem is composed of much more than trees, although trees are certainly the most conspicuous feature. A forest is a dynamic tapestry of interrelationships that connect the rich diversity of living plants and animals that coexist there. Soils, with their mixture of crushed rocks and minerals, bacteria, fungi, and decomposing matter, are certainly vital to the living forest system. Non-living factors such as the amount of sunlight, temperature, amount of precipitation, and topography, also have a great influence on this fascinating system.

Ohio's forests are valuable to our lives in many ways. A properly managed forest that maintains important wildlife habitat, can also provide valuable economic returns for many Ohioans. There are over 5,000 products and by-products that are made from trees. Forests offer many opportunities for recreation, including hiking, nature photography, bird watching, and hunting. Forests also act as natural air conditioners by removing some pollutants and cooling the air.

Plan a special visit to an Ohio forest ecosystem. As you walk a trail, allow all of your senses to explore this fascinating world. Quietly observe all the diversity of life around you. Kneel down and closely examine the leaf layer on the forest floor. Spread the leaves apart and scoop up a handful of moist, rich soil. Smell the fresh processes of decomposition. Take a few moments to sit down by an old tree. Close your eyes and listen to the forest sounds. Take a deep breath of fresh forest air. Wow, what a special place!

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Across Ohio are thousands of pieces of woodlands. Some woods are large and diverse with remnants of the forest giants that once covered 95% of Ohio. Others are just a sliver along a watercourse or a spot tucked in a hollow. Each provides a sanctuary for special plants and animals. The list below is just a hint of the various public and private woodlands which people can visit.

Braun, E. Lucy, The Woody Plants of Ohio - Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Climbers Native, Naturalized, and Escaped, Ohio State University Press, Columbus, OH.

Directory of Ohio's State Nature Preserves, 1996, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Natural Areas and Preserves.

Eastman, John and Amelia Hansen, 1992, The Book of Forest and Thicket - Trees, Shrubs, and Wildflowers of Eastern North America, Stackpole Books, Harrisburg, PA.

Kircher, John C. and Gordon Morrison, A Field Guide to Eastern Forests, Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston.

Mitchell, Robert T. and Herbert S. Zim, Butterflies and Moths - A Guide to the More Common American Species, Golden Press, New York.

Petrides, George A. and Janet Wehr, A Field Guide to Eastern Trees, Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston.

Buckeye Forest Council, P.O. Box 99, Athens, Ohio 45701

Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Natural Areas and Preserves

Butler County Park District (513) 867-5835

Little Beaver Creek State Park and State Forest (216) 385-3091

Cleveland Metropolitan Park District (216) 621-1054

Shaker Lakes Regional Nature Center (216) 321-5935

Stark Wilderness Center

Darke County Park District

Hamilton County Park District (513) 521-9866

Lake County Metropolitan Park District (216) 352-9568

Lorain County Metropolitan Park District (216) 322-7800

Metropolitan Parks of the Toledo Area (419) 255-1400

Miami County Park District

Aullwood Audubon Center and Farm (937) 890-7360

Centerville-Washington Park District (513) 294-4008

Five Rivers MetroParks (937) 278-8231

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Aullwood's Woodlands

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