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hard-hack attack

Started by hills_logging, June 14, 2003, 08:30:06 PM

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hills_logging

the lot we're cutting right now has a great stand of mixed cherry s&h maple and yellow(curly) birch, with a good crop of poles 5-10", but the only regeneration is hard hack! any suggestions? I'm not opossed to re-planting. There is a healthy deer herd, but I can't believe they are destroying all the seedlings.
bill

Ron Wenrich

You're going to have to help me out a little.  What is hard hack?  Ironwood?  

When I was in college, I helped do some work on a study of deer and regeneration.  We put an enclosure around a clearcut, and put deer in with a density of 1 per 5 acres, 1 per 10 acres, 1 per 20 acres and 1 per 40 acres.  

At 1 per 5 acres, there just wasn't enough feed.  1 per 10 acres also had a pretty high impact.  

You're not doing a clearcut, and the herd is free roaming so they won't spend a lot of time in one area.  But, I wouldn't discount the deer problem.  I've seen large areas fenced, just to keep the deer out and regeneration can be gotten.

Regeneration should be thought about prior to the harvest, especially if it is a clearcut.  For heavy seeded species and more tolerant species, such as oak, a shelterwood cut should be initiated where most of the understory is removed.  Stocking is brought down to encourage regeneration.  After there is adequate regeneration, the overstory is removed.

For light seeded and intolerant species, a crop tree cut should be applied.  This is basically the same as the shelterwood, but the residual stand is a lot less and there is more daylight reaching the ground.  After adequate regeneration, the residuals can be removed.  

Adequate regeneration is usually around 1000 seedlings per acre.  Many forests have that, but, quite often they're not of the species you want in your next stand.  

In your case, you are removing the overstory, with the thoughts of releasing the poles and you are expecting the poles to provide the necessary seed stock for the next forest.

A lot will depend on how thick your hard hack is, and how high the residual stocking.  Fully stocked stands of hardwoods have stocking values of 70-110 BAF.  Anything higher would be considered overstocked, depending on average diameter.  When thinning, you want to keep your residual stand within this limit whenever possible.

Anything under that would encourage regeneration.  Often, anything below 50-60 BAF will also encourage epicormic branching, also know as sucker sprouts.  They will result in defects in the timber.

I don't think that planting is the answer to your problem.  Hardwood plantings usually have limited sucess.  Your deer problems won't help matters.  And if there is any bracken fern, it makes matters worse.

To get rid of your undesirable regeneration, you have several  options.  You can cut them and apply an herbicide to prevent spouting.  You can girdle the trees, which will effectively kill them.  Or you can inject the trees with an herbicide by using a hypo-hatchet.

You may even get away with just cutting them down.  If they are an understory tree, new regeneration should grow faster than they do.  After the better trees get ahead of the hard hack, you shouldn't have any problems until your next harvest.
Never under estimate the power of stupid people in large groups.

hills_logging

 :-[sorry, it is actualy iron wood. we are harvesting about 35%-40% of the trees, taking mature,(16"and up,) and cull trees.The ferns aren't to bad here.The harvested trees are about 70' high, the poles(inmature) trees are about45-50' and the iron-wood  runs about 20' & 5-6" dbf.As an experiment i have done a few 1acre study plots. They consist of (a )clearcut,with stumps removed and good scarifacation,(b) cutting out the iron wood, but leaving all the other trees,(c) and a heavy cut with several seed( 1soft maple,a cherry and 2 soft maple) trees left and(d) a50' x 600' cut staight through. It will be open for regeneration, but yet won't get a bunch of direct sunlight.  this is a great lot and has had what i would consider good management for the most part since the 1920s, and I don't want to see it turn to weed woods.
Thanks  :-[
bill

Ron Wenrich

Another method for regeneration would be strip clearcuts.  That might work out pretty good, depending on the width of the clearcut.

You could put in strips that would get cleared in successive harvests.  If you expect to harvest every 10 years and have a final harvest at 100 years, you would clearcut 10% every harvest.

I haven't seen too many 2 aged forests.  The only ones I've seen are in overgrown pastures.  Every once in a while I'll see some where there was a heavy harvest to the overstory.  Usually the residuals weren't too good in quality.

Since you have cut some of the poles, how does their age stack up against the larger trees?
Never under estimate the power of stupid people in large groups.

hills_logging

the cull poles are about 1/4 to  1/3 the age of the log/veneer trees.At one time there was some regrowth, but no signs now. We aren't open up the over-story to drastic, to keep the poles straight and to avoid sun scalding, which does have an effect on the maples especialy.
Bill
bill

Ron Scott

The ironwood usually grows among the hardwoods, but is basically considered a weed tree due to its form, hardness, etc. We do mark and remove any that has potential commercial use within the higher valued northern hardwood stands.

It is usually marketed as pulpwood or firewood though some are left as "wildlife" trees for their food source, future dens, snags, cavities etc. They will last for some time and do add some vegetative diversity for wildlife within a stand.







~Ron

RedHawkRidge

How big does ironwood get in Michigan? On my woodlot, I haven't seen any iw larger than 8-10" in diameter.
jim

Jeff

I dont think I have ever seen it any bigger then that. Had one come in as a saw log one time about 8 inches. Mixed with beech and soft maple. It was definitly NOT soft maple. :D
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Ron Scott

I've seen and have sold some in the 12-14" size class,but they are few and far between. Most are in the smaller 3-10" size as stated.
~Ron

Corley5

I've got a couple of em that are in the 12-14" range.  I've got a few pieces of flooring and one paneling board in my house that are ironwood.  These came from a 16" log that I picked up on a log landing after a winter's logging.  The logger had hauled everything else out and left these two logs.  One was the butt and the other was the second.  I scarfed them up and we sawed them.  Not a particularly pretty wood but it went through the planer nice.  Most ironwoods that get very big are usually hollow too.  
Burnt Gunpowder is the Smell Of Freedom

SwampDonkey

When I first read the topic on this thread I saw hard-hack and was thinking Spirea hispidula then I was reading about hardwood and it didn't compute :D :D :D. Now I know its ironwood ;) . Ironwood is very shade tolerant. I've seen a sugar bush which was thinned about ten years ago and the undergrowth was 90 % ironwood, wicked. Sugar maple needs more sunlight, even though its realatively shade tolerant, to develop into nice poles. I'd follow along the same thought as Ron W for getting your maple and yellow birch to take hold. Or even group selections. Ironwood here is the same as folks have described, I've only seen large diameter ironwood on crown lands or on property line fences. On most private woodlots here an 8 inch ironwood is pretty big. I've planted a couple ironwood on my lawn and they have nice symetry actually and I know they'll be stronger to with-stand ice storms when they mature, while white or yellow birch gets an aweful thrashing from ice build-up. They've been flowering the last 2 years. The female seed sacs are ornamental-like to me, especially while they are still yellow-green before ripening.

Hope you find a solution hills_logging
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

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redpowerd

here its called hophornbeam
and it dont get too much bigger than 10"
ive thrown some on the mill and thought it was quite pretty, with an ashen-brown heart.
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northern adirondak yankee farmer

slowzuki

Some people here call hawthorn's by the name iron wood... I assume this isn't the same tree?

Hawthorns are very similar to wild apple trees but where the dull stubs are on apples, hawthorns have sharp thorns.

Ken

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