What to coppice? What to kill?

[Telemark]

I need to release some oak trees this summer and do some general TSI, and I was wondering which trees are worth coppicing, and which I should outright kill. My property is very low on deer browse, and I need to increase this ASAP. I also would like to make the place more attractive for grouse.

There are a few spots where some trees blew down and opened up the ground to sunlight. The only trees that are growing there are maples, and there is a little browse activity on these. Some of the trees crowding my oaks are maples, so those are on the list of trees to coppice, along with ash and smaller oaks. There are a lot of beech trees crowding my oaks, but these don't seem to get a lot of attention from deer. There are cedar(Thuja) as well.

In another area I found a bunch of mature aspen, and I cut probably 15 of the biggest trees down. This area has quite a bit of cedar as well. There are almost no young trees in this area, even though the canopy isn't that dense, and some light does come in. There were a few young ash, and I cut these down.

There are other trees around, like mountain maple, pine, elm, etc., but these seem to be few and far between.

So, my main questions are:

Which trees should I coppice, and which should I outright kill? Is beech a desirable browse for deer, or will it just get in the way of the oaks? And which trees will die on their own if cut to the stump?

 

[Frosted brassica]

I don’t know how many types of beech there are but beech around here produce a nut that wildlife use. It’s in a small spiky hull. It also is a good den tree. Other than that I have never seen deer browse beech. Thats why it spreads in some areas. No browse pressure and more shade tolerant than oaks so it can take over the understory. I am also trying to learn the best way to kill it so it doesn’t sucker. I have read about painting the stump with roundup but I haven’t tested it because I am nervous about roots of nearby trees picking up the herbicide. I am also curious what experience others have with killing large beech.

 

[j-bird]

Hinge vs drop...is all dependent on the situation mostly based on the species and size of the tree. First off I personally don't like to hinge anything bigger than 12" across unless I know it will hinge well (based on experience). I typically hinge cut to create ground level cover. If the deer browse it fine, but if I want deer food, I cut it off entirely and let the sunlight grow the deer food. When I do TSI I have a conversation with myself about what trees need to go and being able to identify them and knowing if they offer any other wildlife based benefit. Do they hold their leaves and create cover or do they not hinge well and those sorts of things. I also consider that if I hinge the tree I am 100% ok if it doesn't survive. You can try to hinge different species and you will quickly learn what will hinge reasonably well and what isn't worth the effort (just remember that size can influence that as well).

Beech is NOT a browse species in my area.

I wouldn't worry about what will die if you cut entirely. Mostly because some of that is going to depend on the size of the tree and how much sunlight it gets. Beech and hard maple tend to not stump sprout much, while soft maples will but even if they do its ground level cover. I wouldn't kill a stump unless it's of some invasive.

 

[Telemark]

I don’t know how many types of beech there are but beech around here produce a nut that wildlife use. It’s in a small spiky hull. It also is a good den tree. Other than that I have never seen deer browse beech. Thats why it spreads in some areas. No browse pressure and more shade tolerant than oaks so it can take over the understory. I am also trying to learn the best way to kill it so it doesn’t sucker. I have read about painting the stump with roundup but I haven’t tested it because I am nervous about roots of nearby trees picking up the herbicide. I am also curious what experience others have with killing large beech.

There are some beeches that produce beech nuts in the northern part of the property that produce beech nuts, but they tend to get blown over when they get really big. The beech nuts seem to be sporadic rather than on any kind of real schedule. We have no turkeys at all, and the grouse and deer don't seem especially excited about the beech nuts. What we do have are endless armies of red squirrels and raccoons, both of which love the beech trees, so some of the beech have to go. The southwestern part of the property is open forest with zero understory, composed almost entirely of large beech, oak, and maple. It would be a dream to hunt that spot, if there were more deer activity. I'd like to increase acorn production and get some browse growing in order to increase traffic there, so some of the beech will get cut down and used for firewood.

 

[Telemark]

I wouldn't worry about what will die if you cut entirely.

Well that will affect whether or not I cut certain trees down.

Beech and hard maple tend to not stump sprout much, while soft maples will but even if they do its ground level cover

Ok that's good to know. I will probably just girdle some of the beech and maple and harvest the firewood later, then. Stump sprouts from maple would be perfect up there, so I'll just cut them down to the stump straight away. Now, how do I tell the difference between a hard and soft maple?

The tops of everything will be left laying around for cover. Only the trunks will be harvested.

 

[j-bird]

By "die" I mean some stumps will sprout and some won't, again depending on size, species and amount of sun light. When you talked about "killing" trees .... I figured you was talking about actually treating the stump to ensure it died. I have had beech stump sprout but not to the point of growing into another tree (they got like 12" tall and then died). I have had smaller hard maple stump sprout, but not so much of the larger ones. My experience with soft maples is that they will all sprout if given the chance. I have even left a taller stump (say 12 to 24") to encourage maple to sprout and be more shrub like in form, but it still wants to grow skyward so it's not ideal, but it's better than nothing.

"hard" maple is sugar maple. Best way to tell is by the leaf. The leaf on the Canadian flag is that of a sugar maple.
"soft" maple is silver maple, red maple, boxelder (its actual a maple) and others. These have various different leaves. If you cutting in the summer you should be able to tell. "Hard" maple is just that....the wood is physically harder and doesn't "flex" as much and as such can be more of a challenge to hinge...especially when cold out. "Soft" maples are softer and thus flex more allowing for easier hinging, but is also why the wood is of lower value from a timber perspective.

Now this isn't 100% accurate, but in my experiences in most cases a hinged tree will die within a few years. So cut it off clean or hinge it...it's not going to be a tree any more. The only real time I have seen a lot of success hinging is when lots of sun is available to it. If you simply hinge a decent sized tree and it falls into more shade...it's going to die. Maybe not right away, but it will die. It may help the tree you released, but there is no promise of the benefits of it being sideways! That is the debate about hinging. Some argue that hinging only further shades the ground and delays the understory when you could just cut it off and walk away. I typically only hinge for ground level cover. If I really want to see the understory to explode...remove anything that is going to create shade...in two to three years it's going to be so thick it will be amazing. Also keep in mind that hinging lower to the ground tends to create and barrier for the deer, where if you can hinge higher (while being safe) this can allow the deer and other critter to get in and under the trucks and create cover that way as well. So that is another thing to consider. Just remember that what will grow back naturally is going to more than likely be the same tree species you are working with...unless you plant something otherwise. If you cut an acre of maple and expect oaks to come back when there are no oaks there now...your likely going to be disappointed.

Sorry for being so long winded... there is lots to consider when swinging a chainsaw around. It only takes a minute or two to undo what took mother nature decades. So you have to understand your short term and long term impacts and have a plan. If your trying to improve your understory
a selective timber harvest has been the best tool I have used thus far. TSI in between harvests can be a great tool for addressing problem areas, but may be too labor intensive over a large area.

 

[Telemark]

Thanks, j-bird. I think the maples we have are mostly sugar maples. There are a few other random maples, which I probably will coppice, along with smaller oaks. The beech is the real problem. They grow like crazy, everywhere, and there are really just too many of them. I'm going to drop several of them and girdle several of them. I just don't have the deer density to worry about bedding now. I need food. There actually is plenty of bedding in the area, but the woods are mature and open in many places. The little traffic we do have seems to relate mostly to red oaks. I need to give the big mast-producing oaks more space to do their thing. If I can get some of the stumps to produce browse at the same time, that would be great. I'd also like to drop a bunch of tree tops to provide structure/cover in the big open timber so the deer feel more comfortable going to the acorns. I can still put up a tree stand or a tower blind and cover a huge area with a rifle, and there is a great funnel there that I can cover with a crossbow.

 

[j-bird]

Thanks, j-bird. I think the maples we have are mostly sugar maples. There are a few other random maples, which I probably will coppice, along with smaller oaks. The beech is the real problem. They grow like crazy, everywhere, and there are really just too many of them. I'm going to drop several of them and girdle several of them. I just don't have the deer density to worry about bedding now. I need food. There actually is plenty of bedding in the area, but the woods are mature and open in many places. The little traffic we do have seems to relate mostly to red oaks. I need to give the big mast-producing oaks more space to do their thing. If I can get some of the stumps to produce browse at the same time, that would be great. I'd also like to drop a bunch of tree tops to provide structure/cover in the big open timber so the deer feel more comfortable going to the acorns. I can still put up a tree stand or a tower blind and cover a huge area with a rifle, and there is a great funnel there that I can cover with a crossbow.

Beech can certainly take over, so I seen nothing against cutting them down. Just remember that they do have some positive traits. If I had a beech competing with a realistic oak....the beech looses out every time! Some beech get huge and bringing them down can really open up a canopy....and beech wood makes good firewood. Use some of those tops as cages and plant some shrubs and the like to ensure you get some diversity. As for the sugar maple...if they are decent size they might make you some money if you have enough of them. I'll cut a maple over an oak every time as well... any maple outside the reach of a deer only has value to me as timber...other wise, buzz,buzz! Make sure you take some before and after pics....you will be surprised...especially if you actually get sunlight on the ground.

 

[cavey]

I actually had to look up the word coppice..... ended up learning two: coppicing and pollarding

The main difference between the two methods is that coppicing occurs at ground level while pollarding is done 8-10 feet high to prevent browsing animals from eating the fresh shoots; typically, coppicing was done to manage woodlands and pollarding was done in a pasture system.
https://midwestpermaculture.com/2012/11/coppicingpollarding/

learn something new everyday... good thing I tuned in for my daily dose of Habitat talk

 

[Telemark]

Yeah, pollarding is typical here because of all the sheep, and to keep ornamental trees under control. The neighbor has a hedge of 50+ year old plum trees he keeps pollarding. I will try to get some photos tomorrow.

 

[Tap]

I actually had to look up the word coppice..... ended up learning two: coppicing and pollarding

The main difference between the two methods is that coppicing occurs at ground level while pollarding is done 8-10 feet high to prevent browsing animals from eating the fresh shoots; typically, coppicing was done to manage woodlands and pollarding was done in a pasture system.
https://midwestpermaculture.com/2012/11/coppicingpollarding/

learn something new everyday... good thing I tuned in for my daily dose of Habitat talk

I believe pollarding is also called cornnasing...Im sure I butchered the spelling.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Beech has long been known to be sporadic in it's production of nut crops. They produce when they produce. It can be several years between nut crops. ( I have a retired state forester in the family ). He said don't depend on beech nut crops for mast.

I also learned from him that aspen will regenerate with loads of root sprouts when the parent tree is cut down. He advised us to cut several older aspens down to thicken up an otherwise open hollow between 2 ridges. The more sun, the better for aspen regeneration. Grouse LOVE aspen buds & catkins. Deer will browse the young growth they can reach, and bucks love to rub on aspen.

Like J-Bird said, we found red (soft) maple will hinge pretty well when smaller dia. - 2" to 6" in our case. We haven't coppiced any of our oaks or maples.

 

[KDdid]

If you can research the difference in bark appearance between hard and soft maple- hard maple bark is very distinctive, and won’t require you to wait until leaf out. Look for a salmon pink color between the ridges on hard maple bark. I helped a guy tap trees for syrup making a few years ago, and we got pretty good at it.

 

[Telemark]

If you can research the difference in bark appearance between hard and soft maple- hard maple bark is very distinctive, and won’t require you to wait until leaf out. Look for a salmon pink color between the ridges on hard maple bark. I helped a guy tap trees for syrup making a few years ago, and we got pretty good at it.

I didn't know that. I'll look into that. Thanks for the info. I don't remember anything special about the bark I saw, but I wasn't really looking.