Treesearch

Terminology has often hindered rather than helped in the understanding of northern hardwood management. We have found that even among practicing professional foresters in the same part of a State, terms such as "management methods" and "silvicultural systems" mean different things to different individuals. This confusion is even worse between regions, where, besides personal interpretations, climates and species requirements are different. Here is how we have used and interpreted two important terms used in these Notes.

You've got a northern hardwood forest to manage. Which way should you go-the even-age or the all-age method?

There are "northern hardwoods" in the Lake States and "northern hardwoods" in the Northeast. The term is the same but the forest cover types, stand, and site conditions can be very different. The silvicultural treatments that work in the Northeast may not work at all in the Lake States. And what works in the Lake States will work - but not the best - in the Northeast.

Monterey pines (Pinus radiata D. Don) planted along streets (i.e. street trees) within Carmel, California and its immediate vicinity, and naturally grown Monterey pine within adjacent native stands, were sampled with regard to intensity of visual stress characteristics, western dwarf mistletoe (Arceuthobium campylopodum f. typicum [Engelm.] Gill ), and western gall rust (Peridermium harknessii J.P. Moore) infection, and frequency of sequoia pitch moth (Synanthedon sequoiae Hy. Edw.) and red turpentine beetle (Dendroctonus valens LeConte) attacks. The street trees were stratified into four...

The term "northern hardwoods" was used in the early 1900's to separate the hardwoods of the northern region from those growing in the South. With continued usage in the North the term now represents all dense hardwood species both in the Lake States and Northeast. Unfortunately, this has complicated describing and applying silvicultural practices for good northern hardwood management.

"Tolerance" is an expression of the light requirements of a tree species.

To regenerate light-seeded species such as yellow and paper birch and hemlock, you need three essentials-the right amount of overstory, an adequate seed supply, and a proper seedbed.

Knowing the frequency of good seed crops is important in regenerating northern hardwood species, particularly those that require site preparation and special cutting methods. It is also desirable to know the maximum time that might be expected between poor crops to help schedule silvicultural treatment or supplemental seeding.

Hardwood planting used to be most common on private land. Now more and more hardwoods are being planted on public land. Not much hardwood planting research is going on but recent summaries of earlier trials allow us to give you the following guidelines.

Here is evidence from an actual hardwood stand on the Argonne Experimental Forest in northeastern Wisconsin that even-age management works.