by Faith Novella

You may know Fagus grandifolia, commonly called American Beech, as the trees with distinctively smooth, gray bark often covered in the carvings of initials and love declarations from Earthplace hikers past. These beautiful trees are one of the most common species in Earthplace forests and are famous as our climbing trees.

For the last few years, our beech trees have been suffering the effects of an invasive nematode (Litylenchus crenatae mccannii) infestation, an affliction commonly known as beech leaf disease (BLD). There are no known cures for BLD, and available treatments are not feasible on a large scale. Once infected, large mature trees can survive for about six to ten years. Given that BLD arrived in Westport in 2019, our trees are at the very end of their lives.

Unfortunately, beech supports a lot of life in our forests. The nuts produced by beech (called beechnuts) are an important source of fats and protein for wildlife such as squirrels, chipmunks, turkey, and deer. Insects are distinctly reliant on beech as well; 124 native species of lepidoptera (moth and butterfly) species eat only beech as caterpillars, meaning they will likely disappear from our forests alongside the beech. Finally, unlike any other tree in our forests, beech also hosts a specialist parasitic plant called Beechdrops, Epifagus virginiana.

With so much expected to be lost with the death of our beech trees, it may come as a surprise that BLD also presents a massive opportunity for regrowth and increased biodiversity in Earthplace’s forests. 

For decades, Earthplace’s forests have had open understories- great for running around and creating lean-tos, but not great for wildlife. A majority of the bird species that could potentially use Earthplace’s sanctuary as a breeding ground or migrational stopover site require at least some midstory or understory. Our forests have not been able to develop an understory or midstory for two reasons: a lack of disturbances and an overpopulation of deer.

Historically, disturbances such as beaver activity, fire, and other natural disasters took out trees and created gaps in the forest canopy. These gaps allowed sunlight to reach the forest floor and support trees and shrubs of diverse species and ages. Preventing these kinds of disturbances has resulted in a completely closed canopy with diminished diversity. In an oddly fortunate twist, the death of the beech trees will serve as the first large disturbance to our forest in at least 100 years. With the beech trees being completely defoliated this summer, we could see where the sunlight falls on the forest floor and the seedlings that have popped up in response.