Last week a huge storm struck. Out of nowhere, the tree outside started whipping back and forth and huge sheets of rain drove at the window. It’s not often that New York’s suddenly pelted by 80mph winds. Though the very high winds lasted only 5 minutes, within hours the scale of damage to nearby Central Park was obvious. At first it was thought 100 trees had fallen, by the end of the week estimates of 500 or more lost trees.
Going for a run in the Park over the weekend, the smell of rot and sawing hung in the air as trees that had been completely uprooted or torn through the trunk were removed. The towering pile of woodchips was unexpectedly heartrending. My favorite willows are still standing, as are many of the younger saplings, but denuded of some limbs.
The trees that fell were old, some revealing rot in their trunks, and thank goodness the damage was quite local (mostly in the 90’s near to us), but this is nature having its way with even a manmade park. At some point old trees fall and flexible saplings that bend take their place- that’s what happens in a living breathing ecosystem, even one as cultivated as Central Park.
Sabbi, do they remove all the fallen wood from Central Park?
There’s plenty of evidence accumulating that dead wood is a vital component of a healthy, diverse ecosystem; supporting important fungal diversity, with the extra energy cascading up through the foodweb, although it’s not always popular with the people using the space.
I believe it has to all be chipped due to a Asian Longhorn beetle quarantine zone, and some of the chippings will stay in the Park, though the Christmas tree chipping program products probably generates enough chippings for several Central Parks each year.
Sabby: It’s amazing what count
say, will not have been perhaps a small tornado, say by, due at the extensive damage that occurred?.We had some nasty weather last week too, maybe part of the same system – or maybe yours was the Hurricane trucking up the east coast en route to pummeling Nova Scotia. Glad to hear it didn’t cause you any harm, although messing up Central Park somewhat.
Longhorn Beetles, we got them, too. The whole northeastern North America’s going to hell in a handbasket, I tells ya.
That’s such a shame, Sabbi. Vancouver’s Stanley Park lost hundreds of trees in a windstorm a few years ago, and the damage is still evident. There was a quite a debate about how much of the debris to clear, and how much to leave in place; I think they cleared the most commonly used areas, but left the dead wood in place in the more thickly forested areas.
I thought it was a tornado too Alejandro, but the gusts were undirectional from New Jersey.
Richard- I did hear about your waves, and the handbasket seems to contain freak weather and beetles. What’s next- some kind of piggy flu season?
Cath- I think they’re still deciding what to clear- standing trees might be felled if it’s deemed they won’t survive- in fact the willows might still be in danger.
{Sucks toothlessly on pipe} Ah, that reminds me of the Great London Hurricane back in ’87. Hyde Park was a very sorrowful sight after that… I think about a third of the trees were felled by the winds.
Wasn’t the ’87 hurricane caused by Michael Fish blowing a lot of hot air out of his asphalt?
Hyde Park was a very sorrowful sight after that
Yes, it must have been a truly devastating day for deck chairs ;) Just kidding. Hyde Park has a definite lawn and deck chairs ambience, but I do have fond memories of it and I think some really old trees were lost in that storm?
And will Michael Fish ever live that asphalt emission down?