When a mammoth storm churned across New York City a week ago, some of the tallest denizens took much of the brunt. The city?s Department of Parks and Recreation says that downed trees accounted for 12,000 of some 18,000 service requests submitted by New Yorkers after the worst weather had passed, and officials expect to record more as cleanup efforts advance.
Branches sprawled across streets and sidewalks were a common sight across much of the city, a reminder that that they are very much a part of the urban landscape. Yet New York?s more bucolic sanctuaries were nonetheless where much of the worst damage took place.
Among them was the New York Botanical Gardens in the Bronx, which counted over 100 downed trees, including many ancient oaks, as well as several hundred trees that sustained severe wind damage. ?Red, black and white oaks are a major loss because we are really a tree-covered landscape,? says Margaret Falk, associate vice president for landscape, gardens and living collections at the 250-acre site.
Particularly mourned was a 101-foot red oak thought to be around 200 years old that toppled in the hillside azalea garden, whose blooms thrive in the shade of large trees. ?Its trunk was 36 inches in diameter, so you couldn?t even get your arms around it,? said Ms. Falk, who said she was sad to see it go.
Ultimately, though, it was the botanical garden?s old-growth forest that took the worst hit. The 50-acre expanse in the botanical garden?s center represents the last vestige of the natural forest that covered the city for thousands of years before humans sawed their way through it. In a restoration effort, researchers have been planting saplings that were propagated from seeds collected from the forest floor amid the remaining oaks.
But in this close-knit tree community, one felled tree can spell disaster for others. When the storm swept through, it caught the tallest one in the forest?s high canopy, which then brought dozens of trees down with it. ?You have a domino effect of one tree falling down and knocking over other trees as it goes,? Ms. Falk said. Still, canopy gaps allow sunlight to filter in and nurture new young plants. Researchers will therefore be watching the native forest closely, noting which species regenerate naturally and planting saplings to fill in the gaps.
At this stage, it is hard to say whether the botanical garden fared any worse than other wooded parts of New York City. One feature that might have intensified the storm?s impact, however, is the site?s hilly territory. ?We have a beautiful landscape left behind by the glaciers, so we have a lot of ridges and valleys and slopes,? Ms. Falk said. Plants on the ridges were among the first to go.
It?s interesting to note how different kinds of storms affect different plants. Last year?s October snowstorm weighed so heavily on the garden?s magnolia trees that they lost large branches. This year, the high wind load caught the tallest and in some cases seemingly the strongest trees. Oaks, pines, spruces and firs all felt the storm?s wrath to a greater extent than the garden?s other plants.
Restoring the botanical garden will take many weeks, the staff says. Branches that block pathways or put visitors at risk will be composted or repurposed as garden benches.
Yet the red oak will be left where it fell. Ms. Falk said that researchers might take the unexpected opportunity to count its rings and establish its age once and for all. After that, the oak will remain in the cycle of life of the old-growth forest. ?The nutrients locked up will add to the growth of the forest and provide animal habitat,? Ms. Falk said.
Amid the grief of seeing so many trees destroyed, she said, the storm left her with a sense of awe. Seeing a tree like the red oak uprooted is one way to appreciate how immense it actually is, Ms. Falk said. ?When a tree that size falls over,? she said, ?it makes you appreciate how tough trees are in fact ? that they can get to that size.?
Yet in an instant, an unexpectedly high wind takes the tree farther than its roots can hold it to the forest floor, and its descent becomes part of a process of regeneration. ?Storms are part of the life of a living forest,? she said.
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