Fifteen Minutes in the Forest: Managing a Hardwood Forest Part 2
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- Опубліковано 9 лип 2024
- Forester David Richert shares his methods for sustainably managing an Appalachian hardwood forest. This video discusses what the forest looks like after the timber harvest. Part 2 of 2.
Love this series
Loved this series. I have seen with forest properties that yes, lots of trees, but no real wildlife. I see that in most of our national parks. Quiet, no bird sounds or very few. But after the huge fires near Gatlinburg, those forests are alive again. If you want to manage your forests, that costs money. Harvesting some trees to pay for improving the ecosystem, then that is what it takes. Lastly, the VERY next year after that property was logged will be FILLED with wild flowers and grasses. The east coast gets soooo much rain it will be a jungle in no time. Landowners around here really do care about having more wildlife and food forests on their property.
The slash also stops some erosion, retains moisture in the soil, and feeds the bugs that feed the birds that feed the bobcat..
Thank you for posting these videos! I´m probably not your target audience but as a finnish forester it´s very intresesting to see how forest management and logging operations are done in other countries. Especially by a stand-specific example like here.
Great to hear from a far-away forester! Thanks for watching.
I have been watching many vids lately on forest management. Are these magnificent trees harvested for a monetary purposes or for sustaining a GREAT forest?
As I watched part 1, I thought to myself, "what a beautiful, unmolested forest"! Here we are at part 2 and now look at it. Mama Mia!
I purchased approximately 100+ acres in Southern Ma. on the Ct border to erect our last, 900 sq. ft. home (to die in - ha). It was partially harvested roughly 15 + yrs ago - mostly oak, maple and beech. Now, we have thousands of beech sapling groves all over; downed , decaying trees (which surprisingly has some good firewood left in them) and work site piles/large rounds.. I am on the fence??? At 69 yrs old I'd be looking a part 2 destruction for most of my remaining years. Convince me I need to move forward. Thank you both for an educational "Thirty Minutes in the Forest".
Hi Peter - Good forest management allows for both monetary gain and a chance to improve the overall health of the current forest while opening it up to encourage regeneration for the NEXT forest. These videos aren't designed to convince you to do a timber harvest - they serve to explain how and why they are done. If after watching the video you don't like what you see, I recommend not harvesting your timber. But like David shows in the videos, trees are like people - they get old and eventually die. Forest management allows us to capture a financial return from the timber which helps many folks pay taxes, road maintenance, and insurance costs. Which ultimately helps them maintain ownership of their land. One thing to keep in mind, in New England, the forest type and the type of management will be different from what we do here in Virginia. Thanks for watching!
@@virginiaforestlandowneredu309 Thank you for your response. I think I'll let my children decide when we're gone... I"m hoping for another 15 yrs of good health to enjoy the wonderous beauty of God's Green Forest!
Thank you.
Great videos, thanks for sharing your thoughts and insights
Thank you for the information. I’m on the Va/NC line and have a similar situation.
I hope you consider leaving dead and declining trees for the owls and woodpeckers.
There's an old adage "A forest grows on a fallen forest".
ive got a little question about the amount of time between the timber harvests. So after you finished the Harvest how many years until you comeback to harvest again.
German forester here btw
😉
Hi German forester! In VA, our hardwood rotation is between 50-100 years depending on the site, species composition, and landowner's goals. With a partial harvest like we show in this video, the potential exists to go back in 10-15 years for another partial harvest, if the landowner desires. Or, the site could be completely cleared at anytime. But these owners are not interested in a clearcut.
A very timber focused program. If livestock or bees could benefit from forage from the hardwoods, the choices change completely. Sugar maple is excellent timber but stingy and late bee forage compared with red maple. That slash chipped would be excellent bedding for pigs, chicken and cows. Shitaki mushrooms could use dozens of those 4" trees that still need thinning per year.
Thanks for the comment. Please also watch part 1 of this video where David discusses other management options for this property (and what the current landowner's goals for the property are). There isn't any sugar maple in this forest - lower elevation (
It's true the whole series of "15 minutes in the forest" has a much wider viewpoint. The Red Maple was mentioned as a tree with low commercial value. However, if it's contribution to an apiary is taken into account, it's likely to be more valuable than an oak over the same space and lifespan.
I like comparing hard maple to soft because it's nearly universal that people think the hard is more valuable but pointing out the cash value of the honey causes them to think. The most valuable tree per year and per acre near where I grew up was the Pussy Willow.
@@rochrich1223 You are correct. Since we cannot manage for everything on one piece of property, we base management decisions on the landowner's goals - what do they want from their property. Often we find that we can manage for multiple goals at one time. But sometimes they are mutually exclusive and a landowner needs to prioritize what they want to achieve. I'll direct you to my video on Goals and Objectives in this same series. The important thing is to have diversity across the larger landscape. www.bing.com/search?q=you%20tube%20fifteen%20minutes%20in%20the%20forest%20goals%20and%20objectives&qs=n&form=QBRE&=Search%20%7B0%7D%20for%20%7B1%7D&=Search%20work%20for%20%7B0%7D&msbsrank=0_0__0&sp=-1&pq=you%20tube%20fifteen%20minutes%20in%20the%20forest%20goals%20and%20objecti&sc=0-56&sk=&cvid=E185C94362BF4265B301EFB7EA62B048&shtp=GetUrl&shid=30b22a80-3ae8-42de-b475-319c9730fc13&shtk=RmlmdGVlbiBNaW51dGVzIGluIHRoZSBGb3Jlc3Q6IE1hbmFnZW1lbnQgR29hbHMgYW5kIE9iamVjdGl2ZXM%3D&shdk=VmlyZ2luaWEgVGVjaCdzIEplbm5pZmVyIEdhZ25vbiB0YWtlcyB5b3Ugb24gYSB0b3VyIG9mIGhlciBmYXJtIHRvIGRpc2N1c3Mgc2V0dGluZyBtYW5hZ2VtZW50IGdvYWxzIGFuZCBvYmplY3RpdmVzLiBZb3UnbGwgYWxzbyBnZXQgdG8gbWVldCBoZXIgZmxvY2sgb2YgY2hpY2tlbnMh&shhk=ySd30w8i5zzDabhD%2FFGRvNk6NolYvvtkndueIuD3Lng%3D&shth=OVP._NFKrWBIy9iKW2Es2ROYigEsDh
Those declining trees do make excellent bird habitat for native cavity nesting birds. But apparently no one is considering that.
Hi! Thanks for the comment. Actually, there are so many trees out there that would qualify as declining and many were left behind - as live declining trees or dead standing trees. After the harvest this site was by no means wide open.
Here is a good article on the topic from the USDA Forest Service: www.srs.fs.usda.gov/pubs/ja/2013/ja_2013_perry_003.pdf
Thanks for watching our videos!
@@virginiaforestlandowneredu309 The point I was trying to make is that if the owner doesn't care about income, there is a substantial ecological benefit to leaving snags standing. It is tempting to think of time scales in our own lifetime, but the East Coast forests flourished with no management for thousands of years. When I think of management, it is controlling for invasive non-native species. And without deer exclusion, it is going to be hard to get hickories and oaks beyond the seedling stage.
I agree with you about the deer. They are making it difficult to obtain good oak regeneration in our Appalachian hardwood forests.
I would push back on the idea that these forests were unmanaged for thousands of years. Native Americans harvested trees and used fire extensively.
One other point: It's expensive to own land. Taxes, insurance, road maintenance. So while income generation may not be someone's primary ownership goal, it's often a necessary management goal.
But most landowners are good with leaving snags behind. In fact, most of our woodland owners in Virginia are primarily concerned with managing for wildlife.
Thanks for to good conversation!
@@virginiaforestlandowneredu309 I am not advocating for never harvesting timber, just to be clear. I do strongly question the idea that cutting down a declining tree with no commercial value is productive. The reality is, because our ecosystems are getting so messed up, adding light the forest floor is simply not enough to get desirable native species to flourish. At a minimum, you would have to deer-protect some seedlings.
I also again want to point out your time-scale bias. Let's be generous and say the first humans were in North America 20,000 years ago. That leaves thousands and thousands of years of unmanaged lands. The humans that did arrive again drastically changed the ecosystem, by wiping out the species of megafauna that adapted without the danger of humans. We have changed it again, wiping out the deer predators such that forest regeneration is in real trouble, and introducing all manner of invasive species that is causing a massive decline in wildlife.
In the big picture, what I am saying is that even small pockets such as this can provide ecological value, which is needed because elsewhere, people are busy converting productive lands into lawns. But certainly, there is a place for harvesting valuable timber, keeping in mind the idea of stewardship to make sure other trees grow in its place, which has to involve deer exclusion.
@@ThereIsNoLord How do you manage your land?
Do you put your notions to practice on your land, or are they still just notional? Do you have training and relevant experience to support your contradiction of the video's forester?
The rotting of old dead trees is very important to the forest ecosystem. I hope my woods is never harvested
Hi Randy - thank you for your comment. As you saw in the video, David left lots of large woody debris on the forest floor to decay. In addition, in hardwood forests, branches, leaves, stems, and dead trees are falling throughout the year - returning nutrients to the soil. Of course, the great thing about living in Virginia is that you don't ever have to harvest your forest if you don't want to. All management is up to the individual landowner and what your goals are. If you want to encourage the growth of oaks or other certain species, you may be interested in this article on hardwood management: forestupdate.frec.vt.edu/content/dam/forestupdate_frec_vt_edu/newsletter/archives/2022/fall-2022/Gagnon%20.pdf. Sounds like you are enjoying your forest which is great!
Are you single?