|
Pitch
pine, Pinus rigida, is the predominate tree
species on Cape Cod. Extensive planting of this
tree occurred in 1725 when the Cape was nearly
denuded by the harvesting of the indigenous
forests by the Pilgrims. Although they settled
in Plymouth, they reserved the Cape for fishing
and lumbering. Within 100 years of settling
in the New World, they had established a continuing
precedent of environmental degradation. Beachgrass
and pitch pine were the two plants selected
to re-vegetate the bare landscape. It was the
first reforestation effort in the Western Hemisphere.
The
successional scheme in the Provincelands divides
itself into three distinct categories: Grasses,
of which beachgrass was the first and most dominant
species; a middle group dominated by pitch pine
(Pinus rigida) and oaks (Quercus species); and
the climax community, dominated by beech trees.
|
