As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the word “pandemic” became a household word. But did you know, over the last one hundred years, the Appalachian Mountain Forest has experienced several pandemics or transformative events that have reshaped the eastern United States forests.
If we could step back in time, back to the early 1900s, the Appalachian Mountain Forest would look different from the forest in 2023. The dominant hardwood forest trees in Georgia today are the oaks, and their acorns sustain directly or indirectly a significant population of forest organisms, making them a keystone plant.
One hundred years ago, the dominant keystone tree was the American chestnut (Castanea dentata) tree. You might ask, have I ever seen an American chestnut tree and where are they now? During the late 1800s, wealthy Americans began to import exotic plants to create eye appealing gardens along with their stately homes to highlight their wealth and social status. Bringing in foreign grown plants had its peril! In 1904, newly identified cankers appeared on some of the American chestnut growing in the Bronx Zoo.
Botanists identified the blight as a fungal disease (Cryphonectria parasitica) originating from imported Japanese chestnut trees. Japanese chestnut trees have a natural immunity to this fungal disease, but the American chestnut does not! Within a 30-year period, the lethal fungal disease spread throughout the entire Appalachian Mountain chain from Maine to North Georgia. As the American chestnuts died out, the entire ecosystem changed. If you look at pictures of American chestnut trees, you will be mesmerized by their size. Many of the forest animals were dependent on the nutritious chestnuts that covered the forest floor. The timber was highly prized for its durability and resistance to rot. Not only did the chestnuts serve as a…
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