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Conifer Plantation Management

Conifer Plantations Module #7 Restoring Your Plantation

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Caring for Your Land Series of Workshops

Conifer Plantation Management

Disasters Disasters can take many forms Flood Drought Fire Violent storms

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Tornadoes Lightning Ice storms

Caring for Your Land Series of Workshops

Conifer Plantation Management

Restoring Your Plantation Minimizing the effects of ice damage in your young conifer stands

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Caring for Your Land Series of Workshops

Conifer Plantation Management

Restoration Ice storm ‘98 — one of the greatest Canadian natural disasters Impact on some plantations was devastating Particularly 15 cm and greater in red pine Most plantations had some damage 10-100%

Looking at conifers — focus on red pine, white pine, and jack pine with a brief look at white spruce, and larch

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Caring for Your Land Series of Workshops

Conifer Plantation Management

Restoration Before doing a lot of physical work, need to review: extent of damage other problems why is the plantation there

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Caring for Your Land Series of Workshops

Conifer Plantation Management

Assessment Records Need to know

Why a plantation?

What is growing?

What is wrong and how much?

What work done?

The dynamics

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Caring for Your Land Series of Workshops

Conifer Plantation Management

Assessment Records Have to decide on: Your Goals Potential products An Action plan to address concerns

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Caring for Your Land Series of Workshops

Conifer Plantation Management

Points to Remember Originally planted 2,000+ trees/hectare Final crop will be 200-300 trees/hectare Identify potential crop trees — enough?

Will pruning improve potential for sawlogs?

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Caring for Your Land Series of Workshops

Conifer Plantation Management

Points to Remember — 2 What were the silvicultural objectives for the plantation?

What do you want?

What other factors need to be considered? convert now Replant with conifers

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Caring for Your Land Series of Workshops

Conifer Plantation Management

Species and their Roles Red pine

“nurse crop” to provide a suitable micro site for the development of a hardwood understory provide an excellent range of forest products good return on investment usually not part of natural forest on site after the final harvest

White pine

“nurse crop” as above but will be part of future natural forest on site

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Caring for Your Land Series of Workshops

Conifer Plantation Management

Species and their Roles Jack pine

“nurse crop� for those difficult sites able to capture shallow dry sites provide site protection may provide suitable environment for invasion of hardwoods little opportunity for forest products

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Caring for Your Land Series of Workshops

Conifer Plantation Management

Red Pine — Older Plantations Damage can be total — domino effect Partial loss needs to be designed into thinning Start conversion process sooner

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Caring for Your Land Series of Workshops

Conifer Plantation Management

Red Pine — Younger Plantations Prune for leader to make 2 sawlogs Clip all branches except one in top whorl Design thinning to remove trees with broken tops

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Caring for Your Land Series of Workshops

Conifer Plantation Management

White Pine Variable damage in plantations up to 15 metres Compounded by heavy weevil damage Enough crop trees?

Is pruning an option?

Patience

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Caring for Your Land Series of Workshops

Conifer Plantation Management

Jack Pine Nurse crop for hardwood invasion On older sites hardwoods usually present Damage on jack pine will actually release hardwoods Clean trails and reduce fire hazard without injuring hardwoods

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Caring for Your Land Series of Workshops

Conifer Plantation Management

Tamarack/Larch clip In many cases top 1-2 metres broken off tress 10-15 metres high Original planting survival sometimes low May need clipping Broken stub could be trimmed to allow tree to “heal� sooner

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Caring for Your Land Series of Workshops

Conifer Plantation Management

White Spruce Little to no damage Where leaders broken, clip all but one lateral to ensure only one leader Consider early thinning

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Caring for Your Land Series of Workshops

Conifer Plantation Management

Why Prune Broken Tops?

Tree has one leader Clean stub — healing Increase log length

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Caring for Your Land Series of Workshops

Conifer Plantation Management

How to Prune Pruning cuts should be made just outside the branch collar Large branches should be removed by 3 step method Cuts in leader should be at 45 degrees or along a branch bark ridge

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Caring for Your Land Series of Workshops

Conifer Plantation Management

When to Prune Prune live branches in dormant season

Late winter or early spring before leaf formation Maximizes growth and wound closure

Remove diseased or dead branches any time

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Caring for Your Land Series of Workshops

Conifer Plantation Management

Pruning Equipment Use proper tools Clean and sharpen Comes with extension poles for pruning to 17 feet

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Caring for Your Land Series of Workshops

Conifer Plantation Management

In Summary Assess the whole health of trees and plantation Review goals Develop action plan Review annually

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Do any corrective work in dormant season Concentrate Work on crop trees Cut slash close to ground Use proper tools

Caring for Your Land Series of Workshops

Conifer Plantation Management

Conifer Plantation Management Workshops Have been funded by: Ministry of Natural Resources and

Eastern Ontario Model Forest through

The Stewardship Program Prepared by Bill Hardy, Hardy Consulting Layout and design by the LandOwner Resource Centre

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Caring for Your Land Series of Workshops