Frederick County Forests

-Submitted by: Mike Kay
Forester, Maryland Forest Service

________________________________________________________

Click here for a printer friendly version (Size: 14 KB)

Frederick County is blessed with a multitude of tree species having a mixture of deciduous (hardwood) and coniferous (softwood) trees that rivals most areas in the country.  This tree diversity is as a result of our location, climate, diverse topographic features, soils, and land use history. 

Frederick County sits in the center of the Mid-Atlantic region at the junction of the northern and southern climatic zones.  As a result, many northern and southern plant communities meet in our county. You can see southern trees like bald cypress growing next to the Potomac River near Brunswick while varieties common to the north, like yellow birch, thrive in the headwaters of Middle Creek in the Foxville Swamp.

The headwaters of Little Catoctin Creek near Myersville

The topography of the county varies tremendously. The county has major floodplain areas associated with the Potomac and Monocacy Rivers, and Catoctin Creek; fairly level valleys like the Frederick Valley between Frederick City and Emmitsburg; rolling countryside associated with the Piedmont Plateau; mountains; and a unique plateau that extends from Catoctin Mountain to South Mountain in the northwest corner of the county.  All of these topographic features with their associated soils give rise to a unique grouping of forests and their related trees, shrubs, and understory plants.

This map illustrates the main forest groupings
found in Frederick County
(Click on map to enlarge image)

Trees that can tolerate periodic flooding like sycamore, willow, silver maple, pin oak, green ash, hackberry, alder, box elder, catalpa and persimmon to name a few, are found in the stream valleys.

This floodplain forest surrounds Catoctin Creek

You’ll find oaks, hickories, red maple, black gum, and pine trees in the upland areas like Catoctin Mountain and the shaly ridges around New Market and Libertytown.

Upland forests usually have oaks and
pines as the dominant species

A diverse mixture of trees are found in the level areas and mountain coves like tulip poplar, white ash, black walnut, red and white oak, beech and white pine.

A nearly pure stand of tulip poplar growing on a
terrace on South Mountain

A grouping of trees common to the north:  beech, hemlock, birch, sugar maple, basswood, tulip magnolia are found in the “intermountain plateau” in the Wolfsville and Sabillasville area.

This Northern Hardwood Forest lies in the higher
elevations near Garfield

Besides the environmental factors, the land use history has a lot to do with the type of forests we have in our county.  Much of the woodlands were denuded at the beginning of the 1900’s so our forests are of fairly recent origin.  It was this exploitation that initiated the conservation movement in the United States in the early 1900’s. Maryland was at the forefront of this initiative establishing their Forest and Park Service in 1906.  These early forests were very prone to forest fires and large fires raged through Frederick County during this time.  Many of the trees that regenerated in these early forests were species that could successfully germinate and grow after a fire.  Examples of these trees would be chestnut, oaks, and pitch pine.  Conversely, trees that were harmed by fire such as white pine, beech, and red maple began to decline.  Other man made factors that influenced our forests were land clearing, logging, farm land abandonment, reforestation, insect and disease infestations, development, introduction of exotic species, and increases of certain wildlife species like deer.  Each one of these factors has influenced the composition of trees and plants in our county.

Forest covers about 30% of the landscape in Frederick County.  These ecosystems are a very important part of our ecology helping to purify the air and water, provide shelter for wildlife, and moderate temperatures.  Forests also help the local economy with various wood products, produce, recreational opportunities, and tourism.  Our forests contribute to the high quality of life we enjoy in Frederick County.