Between here and marker 7 you will see a transition to a mature forest. A Sugar Maple-Beech upland forest is the adult on the forest successional path. This type of forest is biodiverse, supporting many organisms from the soil to the ground level vegetation and many types of trees. You’ll notice how shady it is in this type of forest because of the tall trees with big leaves in the canopy that soak up all the sun. It is important to recognize that just because the forest is mature, does not mean it’s done growing up! Succession is a dynamic process that is constantly changing based on climate, temperature, precipitation, storm events and canopy gaps from fallen trees.