Ecosystem
Talcott Mountain hosts a combination of microclimates unusual in New England. Dry, hot upper ridges support oak savannas, often dominated by chestnut oak and a variety of understory grasses and ferns. Eastern red cedar, a dry-loving species, clings to the barren edges of cliffs. Cooler east-facing backslopes tend to support extensive stands of eastern hemlock interspersed with the oak-hickory forest species more common in the surrounding lowlands. Narrow ravines crowded with hemlock block sunlight, creating damp, cooler growing conditions with associated cooler climate plant species. Talus slopes are especially rich in nutrients and support a number of calcium-loving plants uncommon in eastern Connecticut. Because the trap rock ridges generate such varied terrain, they are the home of several plant and animal species that are state-listed or globally rare.
Infestation by an invasive species, the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid, resulted in the death of large stands of mature eastern hemlock in Penwood State Park on Talcott Mountain. The Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection began a program of removal of dead trees and contaminated living trees in 2000. The infestation and subsequent tree removal dramatically impacted the character of the forests on that part of the mountain.
The massive Pinchot Sycamore, a champion tree candidate with a trunk 25 ft (8 m) in diameter, is located at the foot of the mountain next to the Farmington River in Simsbury.
Talcott Mountain is also an important seasonal raptor migration path.
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