Duke Forest Vistas

Over 7000 acres of mostly forested lands in Durham, Orange, and Alamance Counties, NC, the Duke Forest is owned and managed by Duke University primarily as a teaching and research forest. Additionally, the Forest is managed as an operational, limited revenue-generating forest through sustainable harvest of wood products. The Forest is also managed for public recreation during daylight hours and as a natural heritage and biodiversity preserve. By maintaining a healthy forest ecosystem, both air quality and water quality are enhanced for the residents of nearby cities and towns such as Durham, Chapel Hill, and Hillsborough.

New Hope Creek

New Hope Creek, Duke Forest

New Hope Creek, Korstian Division, Duke Forest

Orange Co., NC

6 May 2006
New Hope Creek, Duke Forest

Same view, 4.5 months later!
New Hope Creek, Korstian Division, Duke Forest

Orange Co., NC
29 Sep 2006

Roughly the same view after a wet winter with rain and snow.
New Hope Creek, Korstian Division, Duke Forest

Orange Co., NC
14 Feb 2010

Roughly the same view after a wet winter with rain and snow.
New Hope Creek, Korstian Division, Duke Forest

Orange Co., NC
14 Feb 2010
New Hope Creek, Duke Forest

Nearby view a year later as the drought becomes extreme in North Carolina

New Hope Creek, Orange Co., NC
26 Sep 2007
New Hope Creek, Duke Forest

New Hope Creek, Korstian Division, Duke Forest

Orange Co., NC
6 May 2006

New beaver damn on New Hope Creek, Korstian Division, Duke Forest

Orange Co., NC
10 Feb 2012

New Hope Creek, Korstian Division, Duke Forest

Orange Co., NC
14 Feb 2010

New Hope Creek, Korstian Division, Duke Forest

Orange Co., NC
14 Feb 2010
New Hope Creek, Duke Forest

New Hope Creek, Korstian Division, Duke Forest

Orange Co., NC
2 June 2003

Looking up into the canopy with Loblolly Pine and Carolina Shagbark Hickory, Durham Division, Duke Forest

Durham Co., NC
11 Nov 2009

Snow and ice-covered trees along Hwy 751 through Duke Forest

Durham Co., NC
2 March 2009

Snow and ice-covered trees along Hwy 751 through Duke Forest

Durham Co., NC
2 March 2009

Snow and ice-covered trees along Hwy 751 through Duke Forest

Durham Co., NC
2 March 2009

Succession in the Carolina Piedmont...

Clearcut in young succession

Soon after a disturbance such as a clearcut, grasses like crabgrass and broomsedge (seen well in this photo) and other herbaceous plants like horseweeds and asters appear.

Gate 34, Durham Division
8 Jan 2008
Young loblolly pines succeeding grasses in clearcut

Loblolly Pine trees often quickly take over these fields.

Gate 26, Korstian Division
8 Jan 2008
Loblolly pine forest

Loblolly Pine becomes the dominant tree in the forest for several decades.

Blackwood Division
8 Jan 2008
Mixed hardwood/pine forest

Eventually, hardwoods like sweetgum, tulip tree, and then oaks and hickories succeed the pines.

Oosting Tract
8 Jan 2008
Hardwood forest

Pines cannot grow under the shade of an established canopy, so the hardwood forest is considered to be the climax plant community in the piedmont.

Gate 26, Korstian Division
8 Jan 2008

Silviculture in the Duke Forest...

As a working forest managed for sustainable timber harvest, several southern pine stands of various species and ages may be found in Duke Forest.

Slash Pine (Pinus elliottii) Slash Pine (Pinus elliottii) stand
Durham Division, Duke Forest
8 Aug 2012
Slash Pine (Pinus elliottii) Slash Pine (Pinus elliottii) stand
Durham Division, Duke Forest
8 Aug 2012

Loblolly Pine Seed Tree Harvest Loblolly Pine (Pinus taeda) Seed Tree Harvest
Durham Division, Duke Forest
22 Oct 2012
Loblolly Pine Seed Tree Harvest Loblolly Pine (Pinus taeda) Seed Tree Harvest
Durham Division, Duke Forest
22 Oct 2012

In a seed tree harvest, most of the stand is logged but a few healthy trees are left standing. These trees produce lots of seeds to effectively "re-plant" the stand.

Loblolly Pine Seed Tree Harvest Loblolly Pine (Pinus taeda) Seed Tree Harvest
Durham Division, Duke Forest
22 Oct 2012

18 months after harvest, numerous pine seedlings and saplings re-populate the stand.

Loblolly Pine Seed Tree Harvest Loblolly Pine (Pinus taeda) Seed Tree Harvest
Durham Division, Duke Forest
22 Oct 2012

Cultural History in the Duke Forest...

Stone steps across an small tributary mark the path to an old stone spring box.

Durham Division
23 Oct 2009
Durham Division
13 Mar 2010

The steps above lead to this spring box, a source of water for farmers who owned the land prior to the existence of the Duke Forest.

Durham Division
23 Oct 2009

Durham Division
23 Oct 2009

Durham Division
23 Oct 2009

Durham Division
23 Oct 2009

Several old houses, some of cultural historic significance, lie in the Duke Forest.

Durham Co., NC
6 Jan 2012

Carolina Wren nest inside the house above

Durham Co., NC
6 Jan 2012


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Created on ... January 18, 2006 | Updated on ... Dec 24, 2007 | jeffpippen9@gmail.com