Forest thinning/which trees to cut?

[Phatsupratt]

I understand this is a very vague question but I'm looking for information on properly thinning my forest to make it more productive, mainly for firewood.

I purchased a house in central WI on 60 acres (50 wooded - mostly pine, maple and some oak) and there seems to be a lot of underbrush and small trees. I'm starting by clearing dead and fallen trees but how do I know which living trees to cut to give room for larger, more productive trees? Anyone have a book suggestion or point me to another thread? My search came up empty.

Thanks,
Mark

 

[ehgauss]

I'm in a similar situation in upstate NY as you are in WI and was doing about as you are, taking downed, standing dead (carefully), and obviously diseased trees for firewood. On 60 acres (about the same as my wooded land), there's more than enough of that kind of stuff, unless you're burning a lot more wood than I am (about 5 full cords per year). I had a state forester walk through with me and point out some obvious truths that helped me a lot in going beyond just cleaning up. Once cleanup of accessible downed, diseased, and standing dead logs was well along, I focused on the really crooked trees that will never have value for sawlogs. Lately, I've been taking the multi-trunk trees (mostly red oaks), unless they're not at all crowded. They tend to rot out from the inside because they are often second growth from sprouts of previous cuts, and the remains of the old stump that are enveloped by the new growth eventually rot and that spreads to the growing trees eventually. After that, I look at crowding. Some crowding is good for younger trees to stimulate straight growth, but once they begin to want to crown out, I try to thin a little to free the remaining trees to prosper by increasing the ground moisture and nutrients available to those that remain. Generally, I'll try to have 20' or more between trees of greater than 10" dbh, although that's probably also a little crowded. I found that I can't use enough firewood to accomplish all of the above, and I've been at it for more than 30 years. This past year, I did give some of the multi-trunk oaks to a young neighbor who needed timbers for a post and beam barn that he's building. We got plenty timbers for him from by reducing the crowding on only a couple of acres of my woodlots. By the way, a lot of brush means that you're a ways from reaching what they call a "climax forest". In that situation, the crowns are so thick that brush tends to die out, and young replacement trees only do well where a mature tree or trees are removed to allow sunlight through. I've also read that it's desirable to let 4-6 dead trees stand per acre to serve as habitat for various critters, birds, and desirable insects. I tend to let fewer than that remain where it's easy to get at, but more where access is more difficult, so I guess it averages out.

 

[SINGLE-JACK]

Woodlot Management

I understand this is a very vague question but I'm looking for information on properly thinning my forest to make it more productive, mainly for firewood.

I purchased a house in central WI on 60 acres (50 wooded - mostly pine, maple and some oak) and there seems to be a lot of underbrush and small trees. I'm starting by clearing dead and fallen trees but how do I know which living trees to cut to give room for larger, more productive trees? Anyone have a book suggestion or point me to another thread? My search came up empty.

Thanks,
Mark

Mark,

You have officially become a Woodlot Manager. There's a lot more to know than just which trees to thin. Do another search on Woodlot Management (or just click that link). You'll find a wealth of advice - I got 130,000 hits.

Depending on your area, there is likely to be "free" professional help available, too, from: your State Forester and a university Agricultural Extention Service.

Welcome and best of luck,
Jack

 

[Phatsupratt]

Thanks for the advice guys. Free professional help sounds appealing and something I plan to look in to.

Mark

 

[D Mc]

Regarding the stewardship of a forested area do not forget "deadwood is the life of the forest". Do not follow standard forestry practices.

Google "Windhorse Farm". This will give you a better understanding of what sustainable harvest means.

This is documentation of a 100 acre parcel that has been managed and logged since 1840.

Dave

 

[ClimbinArbor]

Where to begin....

As dave said, deadwood is the life of a forest. Dead leaves, limbs, and eventually whole trees decompose into essential elements, which "feed" the soil. Renting a chipper and chipping everything right to the ground can speed this process. You should avoid large piles, as the can be breeding grounds for pathogens.

The removal of underbrush will give more "food" and water to the trees.

Leave smaller trees to replace the ones you remove for firewood. Infact you will probably want to start planting desired seeds in bare areas.

As for which trees to cut. Start with dead and dying trees. Then look for structurally weak trees. Leave the most mature tree and trees which are appealing. You may wish to have an arborist come out and mark trees for removal and any landmark trees.

That should get you started, but it is by no means all the information you will need. A good book for you to start with would be Alex Shigo's Modern Arboriculture.

 

[treeseer]

Renting a chipper and chipping everything right to the ground can speed this process of decomposition, but robs habitat for beneficials. Leaving rotten logs on the ground and standing here and there is also good.

The removal of underbrush is a real good idea, IF you know what you are cutting. Many shrubs have high wildlife value, and some like Vaccinium can feed people too, as well as look great. Definitely good to have an arborist come out and help identify what you have.

 

[slowp]

In Wisconsin, there are some counties with foresters. I'd see about that.
Your first question to answer will probably be along the lines of what result do you want? What are you wanting to manage for?

Then, you'll need to figure out what you have. What species? How many?
That is an inventory and can be as simple as a walk through or more complex--taking plots and measuring trees for example.

Taking out snags is not thinning. Taking out live trees is.

Out here we have to consider the wind. When we thin a stand, it takes a couple of years for the remaining trees to get wind firm. Trees in windy areas are spaced closer together.

How are you going to get the trees out? Scarring up the leave trees can affect their health and growth, and maybe even their future value. Are your trees limblocked? If so, getting them on the ground may take some machinery. If you bring in machinery, you'll have to space trees so it can fit through.

Sounds like you want to do a "thin from below" in which the weaker, slower growing trees are taken out. That is a sound practice.

Lots to think about.

 

[reccutter]

Mark,

You have officially become a Woodlot Manager. There's a lot more to know than just which trees to thin. Do another search on Woodlot Management (or just click that link). You'll find a wealth of advice - I got 130,000 hits.

Depending on your area, there is likely to be "free" professional help available, too, from: your State Forester and a university Agricultural Extention Service.

Welcome and best of luck,
Jack

Thanks alot Single Jack, Your link only kept me up half the night, interesting stuff. Btw , You see any big snow last night?

 

[electrictrimmer]

Cut cull trees...ones that have terrible structure(big crooks, something that wouldn't make a good saw log), Then cut all your mature trees down that are 16" dbh and bigger, this will allow you to harvest at a later date (10-15 years). cut your tree tops till they are below knee height. Don't worry about the underbursh. Leave any monster oaks as they will provide seed for regrowth and food for wildlife. I have a forestry degree. If you don't like my advice call your local forest agency and the will provide you with a forest management plan very similar, but more detailed than mine. Good Luck.

 

[SINGLE-JACK]

Thanks alot Single Jack, Your link only kept me up half the night, interesting stuff. Btw , You see any big snow last night?

Sure, my pleasure. We're little east of the heavy snow - only got a couple of inches - STIHL BR 600 Magnum leaf blower easily took care of our 1500 ft of lane - just showin'-off for the neighbors - LOL.

 

[Deleted member 27831]

Mark, I'm an ecologist down here in southern WI and I help a lot of land owners make decisions as to how to manage their property. I would say that talking to your county forester is an important step, but you should have a good idea what YOU want to do with the land before meeting with them. There are many programs that can be helpful to land owners, but be careful of getting locked into a managed forest agreement unless you are absolutely sure the management plan is what you want. I know several people who have bought or inherited land who are stuck with the managed forest agreement that does not suit the way they wish to manage their property.

The goal of my business is to promote ecological restoration. Basically the idea is to use the conditions on the site and in the area before the first white settlers arrived as a model for how the woods should look now. This is entirely compatible with your goal of wood harvesting since, after all, Native Americans were harvesting wood for firewood and building material for thousands of years before the white man arrived, and did so in a "sustainable" manner.

A good first step is to find out what your property was like when surveyed in the mid-1800s. If you know your township and range, you can see what your area was like by looking at the Wisconsin Public Land Survey Records.

Next, take a look around your property at what are the dominant plants, in your case, trees. Remember that land use history has changed the area tremendously, but one clue you can use to get a better understanding of the sites history is to focus on the largest tree specimen. Once you have a good feel for what is there, this website by the WI DNR should help you understand your particular community type a little better. Its a great website with a lot of great information.

Even if you decide that wood harvesting is your main objective, all of this information will provide you with knowledge to help you make sound decisions.

Down here the main management goals are to promote oak regeneration (because on most sites they are no oak seedlings and saplings) and provide diverse structure for good wildlife habitat. If you do start thinning your woods, be sure to leave a lot of dead standing trees and downed woody debris for wildlife habitat. Try to manage the land in such a way that provides for structural as well as species diversity, as this will provide more resources for wildlife and for you (for example a sunny spot in the woods might be a good place to harvest raspberries, while a wet spot might have blueberries).

 

[Phatsupratt]

Good information, GoodOak. Thanks a lot.