Any tips on preventing wind damage?

[cj7jeep81]

Last month, I purchased 16 wooded acres. I plan on building a house on the property in a few years, but want to see if there is anything I can do to prevent more trees from blowing over. 6-8 years ago, a previous owner had some loggers come in and remove all of the large trees. Since then, many trees have blown over (I guessing due to the large trees not being there any more to act as a windbreak). Most of the trees are 12-18" in diameter.
Is there anything I can do to help prevent this from occuring? Or do I just have to sit back and watch more get blown down?

Thanks for any advice!

 

[NeTree]

Or do I just have to sit back and watch more get blown down?

Unless you want to spend thousands in bracing and cabling every tree, you're out of luck.

Your assumption is correct. These are co-dependent systems. Trees that grow up in tightly clustered environs simply don't need to develop the root anchoring that single trees in open areas do. Their stems need to have less girth for their height.

The best you can probably do now is to just not remove any more trees.

 

[cj7jeep81]

That's what I was afraid of. Thanks for the reply! We're going to clear about an acre or so from the front for a house/yard, but we don't really plan on touching much else of the woods (at least not anytime soon).

Unless you want to spend thousands in bracing and cabling every tree, you're out of luck.

Your assumption is correct. These are co-dependent systems. Trees that grow up in tightly clustered environs simply don't need to develop the root anchoring that single trees in open areas do. Their stems need to have less girth for their height.

The best you can probably do now is to just not remove any more trees.

 

[NeTree]

We have alot of knowledgeable guys here, so maybe one of them can think of something I didn't.

 

[cj7jeep81]

Thanks for the help. It was incredibly windy here today, so I wonder how if any went down today. At least I won't have any trouble finding firewood.

 

[Stumper]

The more time that passes the better off you are. The least stable trees fail first. The ones that are left were already better able to withstand wind events. As the years pass the trees are busy adapting to the changed environment.

 

[M.D. Vaden]

I partially agree with netree...

There are a lot of guys here.

Why don't you buy us all plane tickets and hotel?

We can all come out there. Just think, all that experience concentrated in one area.

 

[cj7jeep81]

I partially agree with netree...

There are a lot of guys here.

Why don't you buy us all plane tickets and hotel?

We can all come out there. Just think, all that experience concentrated in one area.

Sounds like a good idea, and I could get some help clearing the acre or so I need to. But hey, its only getting into the 30's at night, perfect weather for camping (and there's plenty of wood to keep everyone warm).

 

[pbtree]

But will you provide the marshmallows?

 

[cj7jeep81]

I'll even throw in some graham crackers and chocolate bars.

 

[DadF]

Cj-where you at in IN? Sounds like you bought a lot from a guy that I used to work for. He'd buy timbered acres, sell out all of the saleable timber then turn around and sell the lot for twice as much for people to build on. Trouble is by the time the house was built the remaining trees were also torn up by construction damage so what was once a nice wooded lot 10 years later only has a few scraggly black cherries and hackberries trying to survive.
There's probably not a whole that can be done with what you have since so much of the woods structure was removed. If your close to Purdue maybe I can swing by sometime and take a look.

 

[cj7jeep81]

Cj-where you at in IN? Sounds like you bought a lot from a guy that I used to work for. He'd buy timbered acres, sell out all of the saleable timber then turn around and sell the lot for twice as much for people to build on. Trouble is by the time the house was built the remaining trees were also torn up by construction damage so what was once a nice wooded lot 10 years later only has a few scraggly black cherries and hackberries trying to survive.
There's probably not a whole that can be done with what you have since so much of the woods structure was removed. If your close to Purdue maybe I can swing by sometime and take a look.

I live in southeastern Indiana (town of Osgood). I'm not too worried about there being nothing left. It has been about 5 years since it was logged, and there are still quite a few trees. A lot have fallen down, but I would say less than 5% of the total (maybe even 1%). Here's a couple pics I have.
http://arborist.************/attachment.php?attachmentid=19359
http://arborist.************/attachment.php?attachmentid=19360

 

[glens]

Until the server guy for this site gets the attachments to deliver properly, please don't embed your attachments within your post.

Thanks,
Glen

 

[NeTree]

Looks like you can have some fun 4-wheelin' in this pic:

http://arborist.************/attachment.php?attachmentid=19359

 

[Newfie]

Sure you want to have a whole acre cleared? What are your plans for it besides the house and septic? That's a lot of lawn. Just cleared a little over an acre for a city boy. Looks like the farside of the moon now. Lost all of its woodsy qualities.

It takes a long time to fix the effects of a bad logging job. Just keep taking the blowdowns for firewood. They will stop for the most part eventually.

 

[cj7jeep81]

Sure you want to have a whole acre cleared? What are your plans for it besides the house and septic? That's a lot of lawn. Just cleared a little over an acre for a city boy. Looks like the farside of the moon now. Lost all of its woodsy qualities.

It takes a long time to fix the effects of a bad logging job. Just keep taking the blowdowns for firewood. They will stop for the most part eventually.

The main reason I want about an acre is for a lawn. Our house now has a little over an acre of lawn, and its nice to have the room. Plus, I don't want any tall trees near the house (my grandparents got a new skylight from one, but I don't want one). I'm not too worried about losing its woodsy qualities, as there will still be about 14 acres of woods left. And netree, there are trails wide enough for my full-size pickup throughout the whole property.

 

[DadF]

Now is the time to look up several of the excellent resources on preventing construction damage to trees. If there are any trees that you want left in the yard then don't allow ANY construction traffic, materials or debris to get at least within the dripline of the tree and preferably two or three times the distance. The majority of construction companies and housebuilders have no clue as to how fast they can damage a tree.

 

[cj7jeep81]

Now is the time to look up several of the excellent resources on preventing construction damage to trees. If there are any trees that you want left in the yard then don't allow ANY construction traffic, materials or debris to get at least within the dripline of the tree and preferably two or three times the distance. The majority of construction companies and housebuilders have no clue as to how fast they can damage a tree.

Thanks for the tip. I'll search for some info.

 

[NeTree]

Now is the time to look up several of the excellent resources on preventing construction damage to trees. If there are any trees that you want left in the yard then don't allow ANY construction traffic, materials or debris to get at least within the dripline of the tree and preferably two or three times the distance. The majority of construction companies and housebuilders have no clue as to how fast they can damage a tree.

... and the full extent of the damage may take several years to manifest!

 

[cj7jeep81]

With 6-8 years having past since the logging, would it be safe to say that the worst of the damage is over? Or does it take much longer for the trees to adapt?
One other question. You may be able to see in the first picture a tree that is bent over pretty bad. It grows up straight for about 8 feet, and then does a nearly 90 degree bend and goes horizontal (due to another tree falling on it). I want to remove this tree, but have concerns (a lot of pressure releasing when cut). Is it possible for a non-pro to do this, or would it be safer to get a pro in there? I'm going to have help taking down trees from my dad (who has a lot more experience, but not a pro).