Managing a forest for multiple constituents is a circus act.
Take northern white cedar- Thuja occidentalis. This a native North American tree. Also known as arborvitae it is commercially sold and planted in yards throughout the United States. The tree is identified primarily by unique flat and filigree sprays made up of tiny, scaly leaves. The tree loves limestone areas and can take full sun to light shade.
You'll find it all over the peninsula.
The rot-and termite-resistant wood is used principally for products in contact with water and soil. The tree provides valuable shelter and browse - mostly for deer.
Check-out the browse line on these twelve-year-old cedars-
On the left is a pure stand of aspen - Populus grandidentata (big tooth aspen) to be exact.
Another valuable wildlife tree (deer and grouse) and timber tree (pulp for the manufacture of paper).
It is difficult to grow popple from seed.
In the natural order of things aspen is born of fire, landslide, and disaster. It colonizes disturbed areas, massing at the sunny edges of forests and meadows.
In the winter of 1998/1999 my wife and I created a disturbance.
We clear-cut a couple hundred ancient popple.
What? You committed a heinous clear-cut?
Sure. that's how you regenerate aspen. Don't take my word for it- you can see the fantastic stand that sprouted in the last decade following the cut.
To the right in the picture is a stand of bur oak - Quercus macrocarpa. Bur oak is a classic tree of the American prairie. You'll find these on the Great Plains where other tree species have failed.
This part of the acorn factory. Acorns of bur oak make up much of the food of red squirrels and are also eaten by wood ducks, deer and a host of other animals.
That is Girlfriend in the trail.
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Interesting!
ReplyDeleteNot all trees are created equal and no one should be afraid to cut down junk. All trees have their proper place...in the yard or in nature. Some trees are invasive, contribute little to the support of other plants and animals and destroy the soil. I also don't understand why the DNR insists on planting pine trees all over the place...especially in parts of the state that historically never had them.
As a Great Plains guy, trees are vital for a properly functioning farmstead. Shelter belts block the the area's perpetual wind and capture blowing snow so it doesn't pile up against your buildings. While WI doesn't have the wind of the plains, I remained puzzled why a substantial number of WI farmsteads sitting in the middle of an open field only have three trees around them.
I have determined that I have room in my small backyard to grow a medium sized tree amidst all the power/phone/cable lines as well as my house, garage, neighbor's garage and driveway. Now just a matter of finding the right tree.
Those monoculture pine plantations aren’t very interesting are they?
ReplyDeleteThey’re easy to grow and easy to maintain and very well suited to pulp or utility pole production since they grow nice straight stems.
But they are sterile.
Many of those plantations are throwbacks to the days of Roosevelt’s tree planting armies – employed by the WPA to establish permanent cover on all of the farms that ended-up being owned by the counties through foreclosure and tax liens.
Many tree farmers today prefer stands of mixed hardwoods and conifers – just like you would properly diversify a stock portfolio - a variety of species guards against larges losses due to fire, disease, insects and other natural forces.
Here’s a little bit of trivia: Forest land is increasing.
Since the 1930s much marginal crop land and pasture land has been planted with trees or reforested naturally. Wisconsin has more forest canopy now than at any time since it began inventorying it in 1936.
We’ve seen an increase of both growth and removals each year – with the annual harvest averaging 70 percent of the net annual growth.
About 11 percent of the forest land in Wisconsin is owned by industry – now mostly multinational paper companies. That figure is shrinking as those industrial forests continue to be fragmented by sales to private individuals.
Another 32 percent is owned by federal, state, county or tribal governments. Not very much of that is a pine plantation.
Most of Wisconsin’s forests - 57% - are owned by private individuals.