1
2	Importance of chestnut inventories The germplasm (genetic diversity) of Castanea dentata is dwindling rapidly from the effects of the blight and other diseases; adverse weather; attack by insects, deer, and cattle; and human disturbances. Inventories need to be done to locate surviving trees so that measures may be taken to protect them. As The American Chestnut Foundation (TACF) proceeds with its pollination program to perfect blight-resistant American chestnut trees that are adapted to many regions of the country, the organization needs to know the locations of flowering mother trees throughout the eastern U.S. The American Chestnut Cooperators Foundation (ACCF) is interested in the locations of relatively large, long-lived American Chestnut trees that may have some degree of blight resistance to use in their program of developing blight resistant, pure American Chestnut trees.
3	Importance of chestnut inventories Researchers are establishing databases of field information on surviving chestnuts so as to better understand the following: General health of the wild populations, especially what percent of the trees show signs of blight. The rate of dwindling of Castanea dentata. Longevity and growth rates of C. dentata on different sites such as xeric versus mesic. Geographic distribution patterns of C. dentata. Site preferences of C. dentata as to geological formations, topographic positions, and soil types. The tree and shrub species most often associated with C. dentata. Frequency of flowering/fruiting chestnut trees.
4	Inventory methods-distinguishing chestnut sprouts from similar-looking trees in the forest The best time to hunt chestnuts is in the late spring to late fall since leaves are showing.
5	"Trees which have leaves similar..." Trees which have leaves similar to chestnut include chestnut oak and American beech. The smooth bark of young chestnut trees resembles the bark of young red maple, beech, and white walnut trees.
6	"Chestnut and beech leaves in..." Chestnut and beech leaves in the fall; chestnut leaves are longer than those of the beech and the teeth are longer. The bark of American beech trees remains smooth in older trees; it becomes furrowed with flat ridges in the chestnut as it ages.
7	"Chestnut leaves are not as..." Chestnut leaves are not as broad in the middle as in chestnut oak; also the teeth of the chestnut oak are more blunt. The bark of chestnut oak is more deeply furrowed even at an early age.
8
9	"Many basal sprouts are typical..." Many basal sprouts are typical for chestnuts especially when the main stem is damaged. Cankered stems are common in chestnuts.
10	"Consult botany professors," Consult botany professors, foresters, park rangers, and others concerning the locations of American chestnuts. Visit herbaria in the region and look at the Castanea dentata specimens; many times the locations are specific enough to find them in the field. Once a population of C. dentata is found, often additional specimens can be found in areas close by with similar topography and vegetation. Don’t waste your time in forested areas where cattle have ranged. Today, surviving chestnuts are most often found on dry, well-drained, acidic, and cherty/sandy soils; chestnut oak, sourwood, juneberry, mountain laurel and blueberry bushes are common associates. Before the blight, chestnuts were frequently found on mesic as well as xeric sites. Today they are only occasionally found on mesic sites, usually those that have been kept open by repeated logging.
11
12
13	Inventory methods--assigning the specimen number To identify a chestnut specimen, we use the first 3 letters of the county name and then a number followed by L if at least one stem in the cluster is alive; if a specimen is completely dead (all stems of the cluster are dead) the last letter is D. For example, for the first chestnut specimen we found in Sumner County, Tn., we referred to it as SUM1; if any stem in the cluster was alive, all stems (live and dead) in that cluster were identified with the stem number SUM1L. The first completely dead specimen found in Sumner Co. was referred to as SUM1D. When the second live chestnut specimen was found in Sumner Co., it was identified as SUM2L; the second completely dead specimen found in Sumner Co. was identified as SUM2D and so forth.
14	Inventory methods- obtaining GPS coordinates We use a GPS instrument to record the coordinates in decimal form (this can be used in GIS operations). Sometimes the canopy is closed which makes satellite pickup difficult, so we sometimes move the GPS instrument a short distance from the chestnut specimen to an area where the canopy is more open; in the winter with the leaves off the trees, there is no problem. When GPS coordinates are entered into our Excel database, we use 2 columns, the first for latitude and the second for longitude. It is a good idea to carry backup batteries with you, just in case your batteries fail (this happened to us today—we took batteries from our digital camera to use in the GPS instrument).
15	Inventory methods-taking size measurements For live chestnut sprouts < 1 inch dbh, we count the number present in a cluster if there are more than 1, but we do not measure the exact dbh for each of them; we do record the estimated height of the largest stem having a dbh < 1 inch. For all chestnut stems (live and dead) ≥ 1 inch dbh, we record the exact dbh using a small sliding caliper; if the tree is about 3 inches dbh or greater, we use a dbh tape. For each dead stems that is ≥ 1 inch we use a small bow saw to cut a short section (2-3 inches long) of stem at dbh level; we label it and store it at VSCC, or we use an increment borer to obtain a core to the center. These dead stems yield information about longevity and growth rates. We estimate the heights of all stems ≥ 1 inch dbh (live and dead).
16	Inventory methods- elevation determinations We don’t trust our GPS instrument to always give us accurate elevation data, so we go to topozone.com on the web and plug in the GPS coordinates for a chestnut specimen, and then read off the elevation from the topographic map of the area. If you have topographic software for your region, you could use that as well. Plotting the GPS coordinates on a topo map also lets us check the accuracy of the GPS coordinates; for example if the coordinates are pinpointed on an area on the topo map far from where you actually took the reading, something was wrong—you may not have waited long enough for the GPS instrument to get a good satelite fix or maybe there was too much shade. In most cases our GPS coordinates check out well when we plot the coordinates on topo maps.
17	Inventory methods- determining topographic position of the chestnut We record these topographic positions for chestnuts: ridge, ravine, or slope. If the chestnut is on a slope we note the general steepness as very steep, moderately steep, or gently sloping; we use a hand-held compass to determine slope aspect—north-facing, south-facing, east-facing, west-facing, northeast-facing, northwest-facing, southeast-facing, or southwest facing; we also note if the chestnut is on the upper slope, mid slope, or lower slope.
18	Inventory methods- notations on soil type We make general observations of the soil characteristics, for example--cherty if many chert fragments are seen on the surface or in the topsoil; acidic if acid-loving plants (e.g. mountain laurel or wild blueberry bushes) are in the vicinity; mesic or xeric depending on topographic position and the species of trees growing on the site. We refer to county soil survey maps to determine soil series for each chestnut site.
19	Inventory methods- notations on presence of blight All chestnut stems are examined for the presence of orange pustules or cankers indicating presence of Cryphonectria parasitica. If cankers are swollen, this too is noted as swollen cankers indicate the tree may have some blight resistance. If many basal sprouts occur around the main stem, this indicates that blight probably has girdled or nearly girdled the main stem
20	Inventory methods- notations on flowering or fruiting Chestnut trees which get considerable sunshine and which have a dbh of 4 inches or more will often produce flowers and fruits. If fruiting, the approximate number of burs are noted. This information is very important to TACF for selection of mother trees.
21	Inventory methods- notations on canopy Observations of the canopy are recorded; that is –degree of openness is noted. We have learned that chestnuts most often are found on sites where the canopy is somewhat open and that fruiting doesn’t occur unless the canopy is quite open.
22	Inventory methods- notations on associated trees and shrubs All tree and shrub species observed within a 50 foot radius of a chestnut specimen are recorded. Usually oaks, hickories, sourwood, and red maple dominate the dry ridge and south to west-facing slopes, while tulip poplar, American beech, white oak, and sugar maple are often associated with chestnuts in the mesic ravines and on north to east-facing slopes. On dry sites, mountain laurel, sparkleberry, greenbriar and blueberry bushes are frequently found with chestnuts, while on mesic sites the shrubs associated with chestntus are often spicebush and strawberry bush.
23	Inventory methods- other notations Other noteworthy observations are sometimes recorded such as: if there are signs of fire in the area; if two flowering chestnuts are in close proximity; if logging in the area was recent as evidenced by the presence of tree stumps; if cattle have ranged in the area; or if deer have heavily browsed the chestnut sprouts.
24	Inventory methods- the owner’s name, phone number, and address of property are recorded in most cases We feel it is important to keep chestnut database information concerning the exact location of the chestnut specimens as well as the owner’s name, phone no., and address confidential; only persons who are researching chestnuts or have real need for this information should be given access to chestnut databases.
25
26	Impressive chestnuts on the Highland Rim Chestnut enthusiasts are delighted to be standing next to the largest American chestnut in Tenn. (known to us). It is located on a high west-facing slope in Jackson County at an elevation of 1000 feet. It has a dbh of 2 feet and height of 55 feet; we guess it to be about 60 years old. Note the swollen cankers on its trunk.
27	Impressive chestnuts on the Highland Rim This awesome American chestnut is over 70 feet tall (the tallest in Tenn.) and has a dbh of 16 inches; it has great growth form, but 4 cankers were observed in the upper portion of the trunk. It lives atop a high hill on the eastern Highland Rim.
28