Are my hing cuts going to die???

[Justinsvetz]

I’ve been doing lots of research on habitat improvement and especially on hinge cutting. These are beech trees that I cut today and as you can see, the bark was splitting on the majority of cuts. Even when I felt like the cut went perfect, it seemed to split almost every time. Will they die? If so, why do y’all think? I’m in Pennsylvania and we haven’t had much rain, could it be to dry?

 

[crowskee]

Even if they do die, which they most likely will, you are still letting sunlight in which will produce browse. I mostly hinge cut red maple because that's whats on my property. They do very well but seem to only live a couple years.
If your cutting beech trees then what trees are you leaving? Because around my neck of the woods deer love beech nuts.

 

[WImuzz]

Not a direct answer on if they will live due to the bark, but here is a beech hinging thread.

Hinging beech trees?

anybody had much experience hinging American beech trees? These are smaller trees, maybe as big as 12" DBH. I love the fact that they hold their leaves so well, but want to get that cover down to ground level to improve bedding cover. I have an area I am targeting and will take some before...

habitat-talk.com

 

[Justinsvetz]

Even if they do die, which they most likely will, you are still letting sunlight in which will produce browse. I mostly hinge cut red maple because that's whats on my property. They do very well but seem to only live a couple years.
If your cutting beech trees then what trees are you leaving? Because around my neck of the woods deer love beech nuts.

Even if they do die, which they most likely will, you are still letting sunlight in which will produce browse. I mostly hinge cut red maple because that's whats on my property. They do very well but seem to only live a couple years.
If your cutting beech trees then what trees are you leaving? Because around my neck of the woods deer love beech nuts.

They overtook about an acre or more of our woods and they range from maybe 3” diameter to 8” so no producers. We have producers around the property but these ones choke out any other growth as well as hinder your ability to see more than 50 yards. We also currently have zero acreage of bedding on our property so I figured it would be best to create some bedding with some of those overly thick beech areas

 

[Justinsvetz]

Thanks for the response. That thread was actually the reason I got an account yesterday haha. I’m mostly just curious if these specific cuts will die.

 

[crowskee]

Yes they will die but just removing them be it by hinge cutting, hack n squirt, girdling or removing the completely should accomplish your goal.
From my experience hinge cutting just creates instant bedding and browse. Most all trees I've hinge cut die after a year or two but within that time new growth has filled in the ground where sun has gotten in and most of the stumps for the hinge cuts have produced a lot of sprouts from the stumps.

 

[yoderjac]

They will die. All of my hinge cuts eventually die. The question seems to be when. Sure there are a few that live for quite a while and younger trees seem to live longer. Nutrients need to travel through a fraction of the cambium they had before the hinge. Often the connecting bark strip is supporting some of the weight as well. Often in time it breaks further. There is now a lot more exposed surface area to dry out and die.

Hinge cutting, in my opinion is a short term solution. It can provide instant cover and in areas with little food within reach of deer it can instantly add quite a bit of food. It opens the canopy which further increase deer food a bit more over time.

If you don't need the instant food and cover, I like the idea of logging better. You can do either select cuts or clear cuts and, depending on how much you have, make it a positive cash flow operation. Logging hardwoods will create what MSU Deer lab calls "Mineral Stumps". This is simply the stump suckers that are produced. Because the large root system is feeding a much smaller amount of top growth, minerals and nutrients are much more concentrated in those suckers and deer seek them out. In select cuts, you can eventually use herbicides to kill the stump suckers before the form multi-trunk low value trees. Controlled burns, especially in clear cut areas are anther tool that produces good deer habitat.

There are situations where hinge cutting works well, but in most cases, I prefer other management techniques.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[Justinsvetz]

They will die. All of my hinge cuts eventually die. The question seems to be when. Sure there are a few that live for quite a while and younger trees seem to live longer. Nutrients need to travel through a fraction of the cambium they had before the hinge. Often the connecting bark strip is supporting some of the weight as well. Often in time it breaks further. There is now a lot more exposed surface area to dry out and die.

Hinge cutting, in my opinion is a short term solution. It can provide instant cover and in areas with little food within reach of deer it can instantly add quite a bit of food. It opens the canopy which further increase deer food a bit more over time.

If you don't need the instant food and cover, I like the idea of logging better. You can do either select cuts or clear cuts and, depending on how much you have, make it a positive cash flow operation. Logging hardwoods will create what MSU Deer lab calls "Mineral Stumps". This is simply the stump suckers that are produced. Because the large root system is feeding a much smaller amount of top growth, minerals and nutrients are much more concentrated in those suckers and deer seek them out. In select cuts, you can eventually use herbicides to kill the stump suckers before the form multi-trunk low value trees. Controlled burns, especially in clear cut areas are anther tool that produces good deer habitat.

There are situations where hinge cutting works well, but in most cases, I prefer other management techniques.

Thanks,

Jack

Thank you! Any idea as to why the bark is breaking like that? Thanks!

 

[yoderjac]

Thank you! Any idea as to why the bark is breaking like that? Thanks!

My guess is that it is because the trees are older and with little rain, may be more dried out. Hinge cutting after leaf-out also adds a lot of weight to the tree fall. I prefer to hinge cut in the winter or early spring.

 

[Justinsvetz]

My guess is that it is because the trees are older and with little rain, may be more dried out. Hinge cutting after leaf-out also adds a lot of weight to the tree fall. I prefer to hinge cut in the winter or early spring.

Awesome, thanks!

 

[Smith34]

Yes, they will likely die. Beech is not a species that lends well to hinging due to its straight grains. It will hold well like you have for a long time and help regrowth by protecting it and giving birds a place to perch and poop out seeds. If side cover was your goal, it should do well for the purpose, even though it won’t live. As for the bark, this is common during late spring which is commonly known as “bark slip season”….bark easily separates from the tree when something hits it or it’s cut. Check out a logging operation at the time and you’ll see trees half debarked before they ever reach the mill!
As for the guys that say hinge cuts only last a couple years…that is more likely due to a lack of sunlight than anything. I have 10 year old hinges that are thriving and been hinged 2 more times since the original and they are still alive and well. The biggest trouble is guys try a couple hinges and it doesn’t let in much sunlight (and the canopy recloses fast) and they don’t make it. With enough sunlight and proper technique, they will live indefinitely. (But some species like beech, pine, spruce, etc are low probability of successful hinging due to the fiberous characteristics of that species. Yes, I’ve successfully hinged a scotch pine, but wouldn’t recommend it or say you’re likely to have any measurable luck)