Field Notes | Brandywine Forest

Mesophication Pennsylvania: Why Oaks Are Disappearing

Walk into almost any mature woodlot in Chester, Delaware, Bucks or Montgomery County and you'll likely see a lot of tulip poplar, red maple, and American beech crowding the understory — and very few young oaks. That's not a coincidence. It's the visible signature of a slow, century-long process called mesophication, and it's quietly reshaping the character of southeastern Pennsylvania's forests. What Mesophication Actually Means The term was coined in 2008 by forest ecologist

Michael Dunn

3 days ago4 min read

Fighting Fire With Fire: Why Pennsylvania Should Embrace Fire Use Over Full Suppression

For more than a hundred years, Pennsylvania has treated forest fire as an enemy to be stamped out on sight — and by that narrow measure, the strategy has worked. Wildfire acreage fell from over 340,000 acres a year in 1915 to roughly 4,500 acres by 2014, one of the most successful fire-suppression records of any state in the country. But a growing body of ecological research — and a longer view of Pennsylvania's own history — makes clear that total suppression has quietly cre

Michael Dunn

4 days ago6 min read

Guardians of the Woods: Understanding Pennsylvania's Forest Fire Warden Program

If you drive through rural Pennsylvania and spot a pickup truck with a small badge on the door or a neighbor who seems to always know before anyone else that smoke is rising over the ridge, there's a good chance you've encountered a Forest Fire Warden. For more than a century, this quiet, largely volunteer network has been one of the most effective — and least talked about — pieces of forest protection infrastructure in the Commonwealth. A Program Born From Crisis Pennsylvani

Michael Dunn

4 days ago4 min read

Prescribed Fire in Pennsylvania Upland Oak Forests: A Practical Tool for Restoration and Resilience

Prescribed fire is one of the most effective tools available for restoring and sustaining upland oak forests in Pennsylvania, particularly where decades of fire exclusion have reduced oak regeneration and favored more shade-tolerant competitors (Schweitzer & Dey, 2023; Stambaugh et al., 2022). For landowners and land managers, a well-planned burn can improve forest health, support wildlife habitat, reduce hazardous fuel buildup, and guide long-term stand development in a more

Michael Dunn

Aug 16 min read

Urban Silviculture and the Stewardship of Fragmented Forests

In southeastern Pennsylvania, forests rarely exist as large, unbroken systems. Instead, they persist as fragmented patches—woodlots behind neighborhoods, stream buffers, institutional lands, and remnant stands tucked between development. These landscapes are often undervalued, yet they present some of the most important opportunities for ecological restoration and long-term stewardship. At Brandywine Forest, we focus on managing these spaces through the lens of urban silvicul

Michael Dunn

Aug 13 min read