Empire Bluff Trail - Beech-Maple Forest

Stop and look around at post #3. This section of trail shows one of the most important types of Northern Hardwood forest in Michigan, the Beech-Maple forest. This forest consists of primarily sugar maple, red maple, and beech. Though, in disturbed areas where sunlight shines below the tree canopy, more sun-loving species, such as paper birch and quaking aspen are often found. White pine is commonly intermixed with the beech maple and depending on sunshine, soil, climate, and time, white pine forest may displace some of the beech-maple.

Over the years the natural process of plant decay has improved the fertility of the sandy glacial soils. Still they can hardly be called rich. In the summer the trees cast a dense shade. Plants of this forest must be able to tolerate low light levels. Many of the forest wildflowers such as the trillium, bloodroot, and Dutchman's breeches bloom in the early spring before the leaves appear on the trees. Young trees deprived of sunlight grow very slowly. If a nearby tree falls, allowing sunlight to reach the young trees, they show a rapid spurt of growth. Before long the gap in the leafy canopy is closed and dense shade prevails again.