MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY EXTENSION
By Bill Cook MSU Extension Service Forester

MANAGEMENT OPTIONS FOR RED PINE TYPES

Forest management practices vary considerably across forest types, site conditions, market availability, and many other factors. There simply is not any single way or best way to manage all forests, or even a particular kind of forest. While nature is a dynamic system that defies simple categorization, there remains a body of knowledge and experience that can be very effectively applied.

For landowners, growing red pine can be quite rewarding. It's one of the fastest- growing species in the Lake States. Plantations are reasonably easy to establish, maintain, and thin. Old fields, abandoned farms, and low quality hardwood sites are good places to plant red pine, as long as the soil is well-drained.

Plantation establishment, maintenance, and culture require some knowledge and planning. Working with a forester will certainly increase the odds of success. The early years are critical. Vegetation competition, drought, and deer browsing pose the greatest threats. Cost-share programs and federal tax incentives can help with expenses. Red pine are very sensitive to sunlight conditions. They do not tolerate shade. As stand canopies begin to close, growth slows dramatically and lower branches begin to die and self-prune. To a certain point, this self-pruning is a good thing. Nevertheless, to maximize growth and maintain stand health, thinning is required. Red pine respond well to well-maintained light conditions.

Many older plantations have been neglected. Persistent over-crowding after stands reach about 60 feet will ruin a stand. The ratio of crown to total tree height becomes so low that recovery may be impossible. When only the top ten percent of the tree has needles, and the trees are not likely to grow much more in height, the stand needs to be clearcut and re-planted. It's too late for thinning.

The crown is where photosynthesis takes place. When crowns become very small, the trees produce only minimal amounts of sugars. This stressful condition can attract bark beetles and invite other health problems. Once trees approach the genetic limit of height growth, those with small crowns cannot grow larger crowns. That's why thinning at this point would not be productive.

Many of the plantations from the CCC days have reached sawtimber size. Many more plantations started since then are also coming on-line. Over the next decade or so, we can expect large volumes of red pine to move into the market. The most valuable products will be utility poles, followed by cabin logs, sawtimber, and pulpwood. Red pine is a versatile species with excellent products throughout its life.

Red pine is one of the more maligned forest types in the region. Conversely, many people consider these stands visually attractive. Both perspectives are largely human constructs. While sometimes locally abundant, the red pine forest type occupies only about five percent of our forest cover in the Lake States.

Red pine seems to have gotten a bad rap for a lack of biodiversity and the fact it often grows in rows.

While biodiversity within a stand may be low, the diversity added to the greater landscape can be valuable. Red pine stands in a sea of hardwoods offers habitat for species not otherwise likely to occur. Early stages of red pine growth provide excellent shelter and escape cover for many wildlife species.

As far as growing in rows, that's usually a temporary structure. Once thinning within rows begins to happen, the stand will often take on a visual character more like that of natural stands.

Plantations are an effective way to rapidly produce marketable fiber and invest for future income. While they may not have the greatest value to wildlife habitat, they do add to most landscapes. If we can accept open fields, urban splatter, and agriculture; then a plantation should certainly be preferable from environmental perspectives. Perhaps, red pine deserves a second look.

Bill Cook Forester & Biologist
MSU Extension, Upper Peninsula 6005 J Road
Escanaba, MI 49829
906-786-1575, voice •
906-786-9370, fax
Email: cookwi@msu.edu

MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY EXTENSION
By Bill Cook MSU Extension Service Forester

MANAGEMENT OPTIONS FOR NORTHERN HARDWOOD TYPES

Forest management practices vary considerably across forest types, site conditions, market availability, and many other factors. There simply is not any single way or best way to manage all forests, or even a particular kind of forest. While nature is a dynamic system that defies simple categorization, there remains a body of knowledge and experience that can be very effectively applied.

Northern hardwoods display this diversity more than any other Lake States forest type. The term "northern hardwoods" refers to forests dominated by sugar maple, basswood, beech, and yellow birch. There are dozens of other possible components that vary widely. White pine and hemlock are particularly important species for enhancing wildlife habitat and are the focus of many forest "restoration" efforts.

Northern hardwoods are the dominant forest cover in Michigan and Wisconsin. These associations are the final stage in several vegetation succession pathways. As our forests age and mature, more and more area becomes occupied by northern hardwoods, at the expense of other forest types. Because major component species also have high monetary values, some forest owners use management to push their forests more quickly towards northern hardwoods.

Northern hardwoods can be managed using either all-aged or even-aged systems. On more productive sites, all-aged management will produce the highest quality timber and most resemble what many consider to be natural. On less productive sites, even- aged systems frequently work well.

An all-aged, or uneven-aged, management system is what we often call the selection system. Stands are entered every 10-15 years and a range of trees are removed. The result is a better quality stand. The harvest involves a mix of thinnings and high value trees, taken from all size classes. This should not be confused with a "select cut" as is too often practiced. The difference lies in which trees are "selected." If the harvest does not improve stand quality, then it is not good forestry.

Individual tree selection spreads the thinning and harvest more uniformly across the stand. This version of the selection system maximizes sugar maple regeneration and development. Group selection removes trees in variable concentrations in order to increase tree species diversity, especially those species that require more sunlight than sugar maple. Selection management mimics the ecological processes that naturally work in northern hardwoods.

Even-aged management in northern hardwoods can be variations of shelterwood or clearcutting systems. While often considered less desirable than the selection system, even-aged management has its place. On many sites, high quality timber may not be achievable due to site limitations. Clearcutting larger areas of northern hardwoods may be one way to regenerate stands in areas where high deer densities destroy regeneration produced through selection management.

Shelterwood harvests remove successive amounts of overstory with the idea of stimulating regeneration and "nursing" the young trees into a replacement stand. Once the new forest is obtained, the overstory is then removed. The full sunlight then accelerates the growth of the new forest. Shelterwood management works particularly well with certain other forest types, such as oaks, but has applications in northern hardwoods, too.

Northern hardwoods, particularly sugar maple, produce some of the most monetarily valuable trees in North America. Sawtimber and veneer are typically bought from forest owners in units of 1000 board feet, or MBF. In the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, high quality sugar maple can sell for over $1000 per MBF. That means harvesting only a few hundred trees can net several tens of thousands of dollars, every 10-15 years.

The key, of course, is "quality" in the trees. Growing sugar maple, and certain other tree species, to meet high value specifications takes good forest management on a productive site. The science is well understood and the techniques are no secret. However, a stand in poor condition may require several decades of recovery and professional management before a high quality condition can be achieved. Management will produce a high quality stand in less time and in greater abundance than leaving things to nature.

Larger sugar maple trees are not necessarily more valuable. On many of our soil types, discoloration and rotting agents be come present when the trees are 14-16 inches in diameter. On other soils, this process may not occur until trees grow to over 20 inches. Knowing the situation in your area is important when determining how to maximize the dollar value of a harvest. A number of other conditions introduce defect and quality degrades. Variable markets can also influence what may or may not be acceptable. Northern hardwood management can be the most complex among our Lake States forests. Many variables must be evaluated and combined in order to meet forest owner objectives. Timber marking requires considerable experience and knowledge. Timber harvesting requires a skilled logger appropriately using equipment. Professional consultation becomes more important with northern hardwoods than any other forest type. However, the future of northern hardwoods looks good, especially if you have the right forest on the right ground.

MOUNTAIN ASH - A TREE OF MANY USES.

Confusion exists when voicing concerns over the crisis for ash trees from the invading Emerald Ash Borer. The Mountain Ash, with its beautiful green foliage and bright red berries of fall, is a species having nothing to fear from that insect pest, since this is an ash tree in name only-not in family. The Mountain Ash (Pyrus Aucuparia, Gaertn.) is not related to the true Ashes, but has derived its name from the similarity of the leaves. In comparison to the true Ash, it is a small tree, rarely more than 30 feet high. It belongs to the order Rosacece and is distinguished from its immediate relations the Pear, Crab Apple, White Beam and Wild Service Tree by its regularly pinnate, Ashlike leaves. It is generally distributed over the country in its wild state, but is also much cultivated as an ornamental tree.

All parts of the tree are astringent and it has been used in tanning and for dyeing black. When cut, the Mountain Ash yields poles and hoops for barrels.

Both the bark and fruit have medicinal properties. The fruit is rather globose, with teeth at the apex and two to three seeded cells. They are used medicinally in either the fresh or the dried state.

In herbal medicine, a decoction of the bark is given for diarrhea. The ripe berries furnish an acidulous and astringent gargle for sore throats and inflamed tonsils. For their anti-scorbutic properties, they have been used in preventing scurvy. The astringent infusion is used as a remedy in haemorrhoids and strangury.

The fruit is a favorite food of birds. A delicious jelly is also made from the berries, which is excellent with cold game or wild fowl, and a wholesome kind of perry or cider can also be made from them.

In Northern Europe, where Mountain Ash are common, the berries are dried and when fermented yield a strong spirit. The Welsh used to brew an ale from the berries, the secret of which is now lost.

Fall in woodlands of the north finds the mountain ash's intensely bright red berries ripening, and with its lush green foliage they give a preview of the Christmas colors to come.