a detailed look in the beechwood forest

before we got any snow i took my camera on a walk in the nearby beechwood forest. in these parts beechwood forests are climax communities in their final lasting stage of the succession cycle. since the forest is a national park it should remain a beechwood forest until eventually something drastic occurs.

except for the fringes, all the trees in the entire forest are beech
Fagus sylvatica. the park is managed with plenty of walking trails, some of them lit for cross-country skiing in winter. in the spring the ground is covered in green with wood anemones and in the fall it's golden bronze from thick layers of fallen leaves but today i am looking for details in the trees which make each one unique.

while the leaves of all the trees are close to identical, the shape of the trees varies widely and the bark reveals signs of a tree's life and history.

a scar from a branch lost long ago can look like this

or maybe like this

the low morning sun exposes details that are otherwise easily overlooked. lighting from the side also reminds us that the north and south sides of a tree have significantly different microclimates. the well lit south side is drier and warmer while the cooler moist north side is where moss and other life forms can take hold and grow.

compare the textures of the bark in each photo. of course the ages of the trees vary but there are many other factors which determine the various textures.

these two growing right next to each other have remarkably different appearances. this pattern of rib-like bulges is uncommon.

now of course not every tree standing in a forest is young and healthy. insects, fungi and other organisms thrive in harmony with the host tree but in due time they take over. as the tree dies it sheds it's bark, leaving the wood even more exposed to attack.

in the end the tree lying on the ground decomposes relatively quickly giving way to new growth for future generations to enjoy