Clearing Canopy - What to do with all of the downed wood?

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Fishin' Rod

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Location
Central Kansas
We have an 80-year old shelter belt on our farm that is dying of old age and/or shading by the tallest trees. It is 80-100' wide and a full 1/2 mile in length (about 8 acres in total).

I have started clearing small "slots" in the worst sections to get enough canopy open to start planting replacement trees. I clear the small stuff with my brush cutter, and then move up to the chainsaw. That work goes fairly quickly. It then takes me 10x as long to clear all of my downed wood.

What is the “best practice” for the future health of our shelter belt as regards tree debris?

- Can I just push it aside in a minimal way from where it falls, and plant my new trees in the small patches of clutter free ground?

- Will the wood decaying over the next 20 years encourage some pests that would attack my healthy trees?

- If you recommend clearing it out, is a skid steer with a grapple probably my best option?

- If I build a burn pile, how far away must it be to avoid heat damage to my shelter belt trees (if burning on a calm day)?

Location is south-central Kansas. I have started on the areas with snags, blow-downs, and other damaged trees. The tallest living trees are mostly Siberian Elm, with some Honeylocust.

Any advice from the experts would be appreciated.

[This topic did not quite seem to fit in any forum. If I might get more responses in a different forum, please let me know.]

Thanks,
Rod
 
MH, thanks for the reply. I was going that route and had an email in to my district forester. However, he is swamped right now since we are in peak tree planting time for Kansas.

I did get a hold of the our State Forester and pester him with questions. I am going to post his replies, in case it may help someone else in the future.

1.) Look through your forest understory for any volunteers that are beneficial species. If you plan to keep these, then plan your felling accordingly.

2.) In general, the felled wood is beneficial to the forest to decay back into the soil. He said to fell the trees into an easy and safe position. I only need to clear a small patch for my new plantings.

3.) I do need to expend some extra effort to limb the tops. He said the decay process is enhanced by getting the most wood possible into direct contact with the ground.

4.) The exception is trees that were killed by infestation, or may be hosts to infestations that are possible in your region. I do have a number of Ponderosa Pine in our shelter belt. Most of them look healthy to me, but it appears that a few have been killed by storm damage and/or canopy shading.

He said that Pine Wilt Disease is still spreading in Kansas. I should drag all of the pine wood I fell out of our small "forest" and burn it this spring.



If the experts have any more comments or clarifications, then please feel free to add to this.

Thanks,
Rod
 
One thing to consider -- and note that different species have different needs -- is that the size of canopy hole you create will have a direct effect on the growth of new seedlings into those holes. Too small a hole, or too shade-intolerant a species, and your new trees will die or be badly suppressed. Too big a hole and you invite weeds and brush.
 
We have an 80-year old shelter belt on our farm that is dying of old age and/or shading by the tallest trees. It is 80-100' wide and a full 1/2 mile in length (about 8 acres in total).

I have started clearing small "slots" in the worst sections to get enough canopy open to start planting replacement trees. I clear the small stuff with my brush cutter, and then move up to the chainsaw. That work goes fairly quickly. It then takes me 10x as long to clear all of my downed wood.

What is the “best practice” for the future health of our shelter belt as regards tree debris?

- Can I just push it aside in a minimal way from where it falls, and plant my new trees in the small patches of clutter free ground?

- Will the wood decaying over the next 20 years encourage some pests that would attack my healthy trees?

- If you recommend clearing it out, is a skid steer with a grapple probably my best option?

- If I build a burn pile, how far away must it be to avoid heat damage to my shelter belt trees (if burning on a calm day)?

Location is south-central Kansas. I have started on the areas with snags, blow-downs, and other damaged trees. The tallest living trees are mostly Siberian Elm, with some Honeylocust.

Any advice from the experts would be appreciated.

[This topic did not quite seem to fit in any forum. If I might get more responses in a different forum, please let me know.]

Thanks,
Rod

One thing about brush piles, they attract birds. Birds deposit seeds so you will probably end up with multiflora, Russian olive or whatever your local invasive pest happens to be if you don't spray regularly. Heat from burning brush piles mostly goes up
 
MH, the shade suppression of the volunteers is readily apparent. However, these stunted trees are nice and straight as they strive for sunlight. I am trying to clear canopy to get some sunlight to those little guys.

I am putting the new trees in "tree tubes". They have vent holes in the top portion, but are solid at the bottom. I have had good luck spraying Roundup for grass control around the trees. I think a little grass, weeds, and brush in the gaps will be good for the wildlife until I can re-establish a healthy "forest".

I am going to gradually enlarge my canopy openings (this may be a 10-20 year project for me). I just need a little more room to fell than some of the other guys on this forum. I can mostly put them where I want them, but don't have the confidence to drop a tree right into a 5 foot gap.
 
Woody, that is definitely something to consider.

The previous owner let some Honey Locust invade the native grass field. He just swathed around them. I am slowly removing them. Before I can get to the trunk with my chainsaw, I have to clear 6-8 Eastern Red Cedar that have surrounded every single tree. The birds have a 100% success rate on their "plantings".

You appear to be a hunter, judging by your thumbnail photo. I was going to build some "non-burn" brush piles for quail escape cover just outside of the shelter belt. The Siberian Elm blow downs seem to last pretty well in our conditions. All of the wood up in the air appears to bleach out and get very hard. If you are a quail guy, what dimensions would you recommend for the piles? What density would you make the cover?

Thanks,
Rod
 
Here in California burning is most often not an option. The most ideal plan is to bury your stuff. I looked for low areas and scooped out as much dirt as possible put dry brush in it and then run over it with my crawler. Grade some dirt over it and no more issues. If it is soft wood most of it will decompose down to enriched soil in 5 years. When working with the USDA they wanted the stumps treated so not to transfer harmful spores. Thanks
 
Chain and tractor drag the entire tree if you FL tractor can handle it, section off large limbs from the trunk if it can't. Use the FL on the tractor to push the trees into the pile. Chest high is plenty tall for good wildlife cover. Crop field edge brush piles will almost immediately become a rabbit, songbird and quail hangout. Anything dense enough to keep some wind and all hawks out will be fought over by the critters.
 
Woody, that is definitely something to consider.

The previous owner let some Honey Locust invade the native grass field. He just swathed around them. I am slowly removing them. Before I can get to the trunk with my chainsaw, I have to clear 6-8 Eastern Red Cedar that have surrounded every single tree. The birds have a 100% success rate on their "plantings".

You appear to be a hunter, judging by your thumbnail photo. I was going to build some "non-burn" brush piles for quail escape cover just outside of the shelter belt. The Siberian Elm blow downs seem to last pretty well in our conditions. All of the wood up in the air appears to bleach out and get very hard. If you are a quail guy, what dimensions would you recommend for the piles? What density would you make the cover?

Thanks,
Rod

Quail, a subject near and dear. Hunted south MS in the 60's with guys who killed 500 birds a year or more. We pretty much lost our population in the 77-78 blizzard, maybe killed 6 birds since then. Kind of ambivalent about brush piles, they make dandy dens sites for raccoons and other nest predators. You might want to check into hinge cutting some of the smaller trees within your shelter belt for overhead cover. I am going to be strip mowing a 35 acre CRP plot next week and then hope to introduce birds via a homemade Surrogator this summer. I would look into prescribed burning of your shelter belt if feasible
 
Here in California burning is most often not an option. The most ideal plan is to bury your stuff. I looked for low areas and scooped out as much dirt as possible put dry brush in it and then run over it with my crawler. Grade some dirt over it and no more issues. If it is soft wood most of it will decompose down to enriched soil in 5 years. When working with the USDA they wanted the stumps treated so not to transfer harmful spores. Thanks

A very large part of the wheat stubble in Kansas, MO and Arkansas gets burned every year. I have had brush piles burning in Indiana for a month now
 
I grew up around Pittsburg/Cherokee/Girard, KS and spent many a hour in the strip pits and fields harvesting everything that swam, ran or flew. The good ol' days! As a matter of fact that big Tom in my avatar was taken from my old stomping grounds a couple yrs ago.
 
Around here it's left on the ground to decompose. With that bring said, our primary tree is aspen which decomposes very quickly compared to most species. If your primary species was oak or cedar I can see the want/need to clean it up as otherwise it will lay there forever.
 
We often lop and scatter. All the branches and brush is cut less then 18 inches and tossed about. This is a technic used by the forestry dept. The logs are cut so there laying flat.
 
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