log worth with lots of dead branchs

[oakiemac]

I know of a 40 acre wood lot that is even aged, predominately Red Oak around the 16-20" DBH range. My question is, since most of the trees started to grow in full sunlight because the land was once farmed, they have a lot of dead branches on the lower parts of the trees. On some, the branches have fallen off and left knots now that the lower part of the trees are shaded. Will these knots and branches lower the quality of the logs if ever harvested?

[Ron Wenrich]

It depends.  How far down on the tree are the branches?  Most of the value and volume are in the first log.  If you can get a clean 8' section that can be used for veneer, the value will be relatively good.

The longer any tree retains limbs, the less upper grade lumber that will be cut from the log.  The lower the average grade, the lower the value.

[jrdwyer]

A lot of dead branches and visible knots on the lower part of the stems on 16-20" DBH trees indicates that the stand was very open and understocked when it was first started. Sounds like either an old pasture type of situation or just a very poor, rocky growing site.

The opposite of this would be a crop field that was abandoned and the bare soil developes into an overstocked woods due to light seeded species like ash, maple, elm, sycamore, and cottonwood blowing in. Such a woods has many hundreds of trees per acre and the intense competition results in very early natural pruning and good future timber quality. And if the stands are thinned at 20-30 years of age, board foot growth can also be quite good.

[OneWithWood]

Hey, JR welcom to the forum.  Indiana scores again  

Your posts have been well thought out and informative.  Keep 'em comin'

[Jeff]

Same here. A few more posts and some indication you will stick around awhile and I'll stick a forester tag on you. Let me know

(If you are a contributing forester, you get to skip ahead for a few things that only appear on the forum after certain levels of participation. Hidden boards, things like that.)

[oakiemac]

Thanks Ron and Jrdwyer. I know the field was once farmed but I'm not sure if it was a pasture or not. The soil seems to be good and not rocky. It surprises me that the wood lot is predominately Oak. I know Oak needs a distrubance to seed but for the whole lot to come up in one species seems odd. My church is the owner of the property. Would it be worth while to recommend to the board that a consulting forester take a look? I think the church might some day be interested in harvesting some trees to pay for future additions, ect and Red Oak is a valuable species.

[Ron Wenrich]

How long do you want to carry these trees forward?  If the grade is lowered, due to the limbs, maybe you want to think about starting a new stand.

If that's the case, I would consider doing a shelterwood cutting about 5-10 years before your final harvest.  This will give you plenty of good seed regeneration before your final harvest.  Good regeneration is a key component of good management, and is often overlooked.

Its pretty hard to give specific forestry advice without seeing the property or having any data.  

[jrdwyer]

I definitely recommed getting a forester out on the property to give you some advice. Generally the first step would be a management or stewardship plan. This can be done by either an independent consulting forester or a state forester or an industry forester. With a long term plan, one can make good decisions concerning the timing of a harvest, regeneration, and any timber stand improvement, if needed.

Federal cost-share money is currently available in many states for management plans, timber stand improvement, tree planting, and certain wildlife enhancement programs under the new FLEP program. Indiana, my home state, will have around $500K for landowners in the coming year.

A list of consulting foresters is available at acf-foresters.com or through your state forestry department.

[RedHawkRidge]

Are you sure you're looking at Northern Red, and not Black Oak?  The branch pattern of Black is that of lots of small busy twiggy growth from the stem, which I describe as brushy.  If so, the value of the grove is a fraction of true red oak, unfortunately.
jim