Treesearch

Openings provide important feeding areas for forest wildlife because herbaceous vegetation grows much more abundantly in the open than beneath a forest canopy. Herbage (grasses and forbs) is generally more nutritious and digestible than woody plant growth. Herbage is important in the diet of deer, especially in late winter and early spring. Voles and rabbits use openings year round, and these small mammals are eaten by many larger predators. Insects, a primary food of young wild turkeys and other birds, may be 25 times more abundant in clearings than in forest undergrowth. So, wildlife...

Classification and evaluation of forest sites is an essential step in managing central hardwood forests. In Note 4.01, The Importance of Site Quality, the usefulness of land classification systems was discussed. The present Note describes one of those systems in more detail. It is an easy-to-use system developed for the Cumberland Plateau and Highland Rim-Pennyroyal physiographic provinces in Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, Kentucky, and Virginia. Although the system applies only to a limited portion of the central hardwood forest, the concepts used to develop the system are probably applicabl...

What you want to focus on during the seedling-sapling stage is understory development and species selection. By thinning newly regenerated stands you increase sunlight and therefore the abundance and nutritional value of herbaceous vegetation. Thinning allows you to favor understory species that provide browse, forage, and seeds for wildlife. Precommercial thinning in sapling stands should promote vertical and horizontal diversity. This will benefit both timber and wildlife as stands mature.

Computer systems can help simplify decisionmaking to manage forest ecosystems. We now have computer models to help make forest management decisions by predicting changes associated with a particular management action. Models also help you evaluate alternatives. To be effective, the computer models must be reliable and appropriate for your situation.

Hardwood plantations that include yellow-poplar, white ash, black cherry, and black locust can be established on upland sites in the central hardwoods region (see Note 3.06 Seeding and Planting Upland Oaks, and Note 3.08 Seeding and Planting Walnut). Even though hardwoods are more difficult to establish than conifers, there are good reasons to plant them. Yellow-poplar, white ash, and black cherry can provide valuable lumber and veneer, and black locust is still prized for fence posts because it resists rot. Yellow-poplar, white ash, and black locust can be planted and expected to grow on...

Immature stands include those up to 60 years old or in the sapling, pole, and small sawtimber size-class. Immature stands, particularly in the sapling or pole stage, present a challenge to the wildlife manager. Compared to either younger regenerating stands or more mature stands, pole-size trees do not provide much mast or forage beneficial for wildlife (fig. 1).

Forests are dynamic communities that are constantly changing. To the casual observer, only the most obvious change, such as the death of a tree, may be discernible. However, other changes are continually occurring. Trees grow in both height and diameter. This is termed survivor growth. Ingrowth occurs when a tree's diameter grows larger than an arbitrarily specified lower size limit. Collectively, mortality survivor growth and ingrowth are designated as the components of forest growth. They are usually expressed on an annual basis and in units of merchantable wood volume.

Site index is the average height of dominant and codominant trees growing in well-stocked, even-aged stands at a given age called ?index age.? Fifty years is the most commonly used index age in upland hardwoods. Sometimes 25 or 30 years are used for short-rotation bottomland hardwoods. Site index is widely used to indicate site quality because it correlates well with site productivity, is easily measured, and within limits is not affected by stand stocking. You can measure site index either directly or indirectly. It is important to be able to determine site productivity when deciding on...

To evaluate wildlife habitat you need to answer the following questions related to the three basic habitat components - food, water, and cover.

To obtain the best economic returns from a hardwood forest, you must consider markets. Management decisions made now will affect a stand's future character and value, whether or not the decision results in immediate timber sales. Progressive forest landowners will have a management plan for their woodlots. Typically, such plans are largely land- and resource-oriented, with very little attention to market considerations. But a comprehensive management plan for a forest should combine objectives for timber, wildlife, recreation, and other resources with consideration of current and potential...