Oak Tree in Forest, Thin Around It?

Arborist Forum

Help Support Arborist Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

mncutter

ArboristSite Lurker
Joined
Jun 25, 2017
Messages
39
Reaction score
27
Location
Minnesota
Sorry for poor quality of photos, I waited too long to take pictures after helping a friend cut some logs from downed trees. A friend of mine has this (Oak?) tree in the woods in a spot he's thinning out. He’d like to get enough light through canopy to allow a food plot for deer to be planted. He’d like to keep this tree. Do you think it would help the oak if some trees around it are taken down?
 

Attachments

  • 144CB03E-07F8-46D9-B9BE-727DE09056B5.jpeg
    144CB03E-07F8-46D9-B9BE-727DE09056B5.jpeg
    3.4 MB · Views: 31
  • 6E45BC87-6C0D-445D-9F9B-A714058EA972.jpeg
    6E45BC87-6C0D-445D-9F9B-A714058EA972.jpeg
    3.2 MB · Views: 28
  • C03F66BA-82D3-41E7-BBB8-C0BCE05C2213.jpeg
    C03F66BA-82D3-41E7-BBB8-C0BCE05C2213.jpeg
    3.1 MB · Views: 27
  • 8659CD4E-EE96-4870-A48B-342932921A4C.jpeg
    8659CD4E-EE96-4870-A48B-342932921A4C.jpeg
    2.3 MB · Views: 30
Sure, keep it. It will be a few years before it produces an appreciable amount of acorns. Hard to tell from the pics - what kind of oak? The base looks a little funky in the last pic. I'm no expert but I'm not sure about thinning around it. I think you want the canopy to grow up, not out. If you remove competing trees, it may spread outward? Correct me if I'm wrong.
 
If you want timber, yes...you want it to grow up taller. Thinning will increase crown size, but a wider crown will give you more acorns, so if wildlife is your goal, that is good. That tree is never going to make a good log. If there are relatively few oaks in the woods, I would open it up. Cut at least enough so that no other tree is touching the canopy of that tree. Then look around and see if there are other junk trees on the edges of the circle you just made and cut those too. I'd even consider fencing a small area to keep the giant rats (oops, deer) out so seedlings stand a fighting chance. Maybe draw a big circle around it and divide it like a pie...fence off 1/4 until the trees are 8-10' tall then move the fence to another quarter.

You aren't going to get a great corn crop in partial shade, but there are some clovers that do really well in an area like that so selecting the right mix for the food plot makes a difference. If you want a bigger area, measure the height of of surrounding trees and open an area at least 2x the diameter of that height (for example, if trees are 75' tall, make a 150' diameter circle where you cut everything over 1" in diameter). I would leave any oaks in that opening if it were me.
 
If you want timber, yes...you want it to grow up taller. Thinning will increase crown size, but a wider crown will give you more acorns, so if wildlife is your goal, that is good. That tree is never going to make a good log. If there are relatively few oaks in the woods, I would open it up. Cut at least enough so that no other tree is touching the canopy of that tree. Then look around and see if there are other junk trees on the edges of the circle you just made and cut those too. I'd even consider fencing a small area to keep the giant rats (oops, deer) out so seedlings stand a fighting chance. Maybe draw a big circle around it and divide it like a pie...fence off 1/4 until the trees are 8-10' tall then move the fence to another quarter.

You aren't going to get a great corn crop in partial shade, but there are some clovers that do really well in an area like that so selecting the right mix for the food plot makes a difference. If you want a bigger area, measure the height of of surrounding trees and open an area at least 2x the diameter of that height (for example, if trees are 75' tall, make a 150' diameter circle where you cut everything over 1" in diameter). I would leave any oaks in that opening if it were me.
Makes sense - as always!
 
Thanks for replies. I’ll take a closer look when I’m out there again and relay your advice. I think the plan @ATH outlined is in line with what he hopes to accomplish.

I think clover was one of the items on the list for his planned food plot.
“Giant rats” I like that. They can be a pest or a desirable critter depending on your perspective.
 
I’ll take a look at it once I get back out there. I imagine he’s going to want to try to keep the oak even if chances aren’t great for it to last. Thanks for the info and advice.
 
Back
Top