SMALL WOODLOT MANAGEMENT

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BACK COUNTRY SKILLS

There's much you can do to add diversity and productivity to even the most modest of stands

Many people hesitate to do anything to their woods, either due to a lack of time or knowledge, or because they fear tampering with a delicate ecosystem and its wildlife. Many make the assumption that all human intervention in the environment is detrimental. It isn't. Careless clear-cutting and other drastic methods notwithstanding, there's much you can do to add both vigor and productivity to your woodland. But any kind of woodland management is a trade-off. Anything you do to your woods, even leaving it alone, will be beneficial to some wildlife and detrimental to others. As a steward of your woodland, you have to decide which plants and animals you wish to favor and manage for them.

Thoughtfully planned, proper management of your woodland can improve aesthetics, increase income, and improve both game and nongame wildlife potential.

Nature's Timber Management

Let's start with the basics. To efficiently manage our woodlots, we must understand the methods used by nature throughout the ages to shape them.

Forests usually begin as brush and sun-loving tree seedlings that take over grasslands or recently disturbed sights. As these first seedling trees grow and mature, they shade the ground and effectively shade out sun-loving plants below them, including their own seedlings. Shade tolerant species will then grow up through these and gradually take over. Since these tree species can reproduce in shade, they can continue to grow until the next catastrophic disturbance allows sunlight to reach the forest floor, causing the process to start again.

This progression of dominant tree species is known as succession. Six stages of succession are noted:

1. Grass and forbs (forbs are broad-leaved nonwoody plants)
2. Herb, shrub, and seedling stage.
3. Young forest.
4. Mature forest.
5. Subclimax old-growth forest.
6. Climax old-growth forest.

Each stage in succession is characterized by certain distinct groups of tree species. Pioneer species such as bur oak, quaking aspen, certain pines, and white birch are usually the first trees to become established after a catastrophic disturbance such as wind storm, fire, insect damage, disease, or clear-cut logging. The are shade intolerant and cannot reproduce even in their own shade.

Gap phase species such as red oak, red maple, yellow birch, basswood, white spruce, and white pine are more shade tolerant than the pioneer species but only grow when a gap appears in the forest canopy, such as when a tree dies or is otherwise removed. These may become the dominant tree species in subclimax old growth forests, and may persist on into the climax forests.

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