Pre-Settlement Forests around Puget Sound: Eyewitness Evidence

Abstract

Witness trees from GLO surveys covering 6,300 square miles around Puget Sound (western Washington State) reveal, for the first time, the character and local diversity in the regions mid-19th-century forest cover, before it was severely logged during the settlement period. Although only a few coniferous and hardwood species occurred overall, discrete geographical areas supported distinctive species compositions. Geo-climatic and developmental factors are explored to explain these local differences. Profiles of tree diameters reveal that most trees were small to medium in size, even though most areas also exhibited a minority of larger legacy trees. Approximate stand ages and stages of ecological succession are inferred from local tree sizes and site qualities. Despite current inclusion within the Western Hemlock Zone, major portions of the Puget lowlands (below 1000 feet) displayed extremely few western hemlock, the putative climax species, even stands of decidedly advanced age; in extreme cases \"pioneer old growth\" prevailed. Conversely, hemlock was strongly predominant in the regions framing foothills (above 1000 feet), even when stand age there was relatively low. These problematic successional conditions question whether many early forests around Puget Sound deserve a categorical recognition separate from the Western Hemlock Zone.