Fernbank Forest

Fernbank Forest
Tour at Fernbank Forest
Type	Forest Preserve
Location	Atlanta
Area	65 acres (26 ha)
Created	1937
Open	All year

Fernbank Forest is a 65-acre (25 hectares) mature mixed forest located at the Fernbank Science Center in Atlanta, Georgia. It has one of the few remnants of original forest vegetation in the Georgia Piedmont; as such, it has been extensively studied by scientists. Large specimens of white oak and tulip poplar, which grow up to 151 feet (46 meters) tall, dominate the tree canopy. There also are a few equally tall loblolly pine. Other canopy species include American beech, black oak, northern red oak, southern red oak, pignut hickory, bitternut hickory, mockernut hickory, winged elm and red maple. Eastern flowering dogwood, sourwood, umbrella magnolia and eastern redbud are prominent among the smaller trees. The forest floor is covered by many shrub, wildflower, and fern species.

Common animals include raccoon, opossum, gray squirrel, chipmunk, American crow, pileated woodpecker, box turtle and several snake species, including the venomous copperhead.

The soils are mostly well-drained, with medium brown or dark reddish brown sandy loam topsoils. The subsoils are clay loam or clay; they are medium red or dark red. The darker soils, which support higher plant diversity, have developed on mafic rock; the medium-toned soils are on felsic rock.

History

Bloodroot, Sanguinaria canadensis

Fernbank Forest was purchased from Col. Z. D. Harrison in 1937 by a group of citizens who were interested in conservation and the preservation of this forest area for science education. In 1964 the Fernbank Trustees developed a 48-year lease which was accepted by the DeKalb County Board of Education. This lease provides for the forest to be used by all citizens of the state and southeast and stipulates that it be protected and maintained by the Board of Education in as near its natural state as possible. This lease required that the forest be fenced and all entry and use controlled and stipulated that no plants or animals be removed. While the lease is for a 48-year period, it is reviewed each year and renewed at 8-year intervals.

References

• The Natural History of Atlanta
• New Georgia Encyclopedia: Piedmont
• Web Soil Survey (select Dekalb County, Georgia)
• David O. Funderburk and James N. Skeen. Spring Phenology in a Mature Piedmont Forest. Castanea, Vol. 41, pp. 20-30, 1976.