How do I decide what to cut?

[spur0701]

My lot is about 12 acres ( 2 acres by 6 acres) with my house in about a 1 acre irregular clearing exactly in the middle, some of the property is bordered by streets (about 50% of the line) so I can get access from those two different streets. I’ve already taken down dead standing trees that are easy to get to (near the house, driveway, and what can been seen from the streets) but haven’t walked the entire property looking for others. Half the lot is flat, the other half less so with a mix of white and red oak, beech, a some maple, some pine on one side….and some sweet gum and others I’m not sure of.

So how do I decide what to fell this fall? There are some oaks at the edge of the yard that have dead heads that need to come down as well as some pine and that’ll expand my yard….but other than that I’m kinda at a loss of where to start……is there any criteria on what should come down?

 

[savageactor7]

spur we cut the bigger trees, dead trees, the multi-trunked trees any invasive species you want to control. Trees that are down you can clean up too once they're cut and split. Once off the ground they dry up fast and make good shoulder season wood.

 

[Cascade Failure]

My opinion would be too walk the rest of the lot and start working on the remaining deadwood. After that would be any trees that are damaged, diseased or need thinning.

 

[JustWood]

Cut the beech and gum. They are pretty much worthless for lumber.

 

[firefighterjake]

I can only tell you what our family has done for years . . . and it works for us . . . a few years you can go back to where we cut out a load of wood and other than the stumps and maybe a bit of brush you would not be able to tell that we pulled several cords of wood from that area.

When culling wood we tend to look for the dead trees, leaning trees and trees that are not nice and straight . . . we also tend to make trails into the woods for the ATV or tractor and so any wood in the way of these trails is cut . . . finally we do take some "good" trees . . . but we try to leave the younger trees and older trees . . . preferring to leave some of the younger trees to grow for the next generation and some of the older trees to remain behind to continue to act as "seed" trees . . . finally we do not clear cut an area, but opt to selectively cut an area.

 

[lfunk11]

if bark is coming off a tree is it something that should be cut - I have a similar problem, but on a smaller scale.

 

[Got Wood]

I can only tell you what our family has done for years . . . and it works for us . . . a few years you can go back to where we cut out a load of wood and other than the stumps and maybe a bit of brush you would not be able to tell that we pulled several cords of wood from that area.

When culling wood we tend to look for the dead trees, leaning trees and trees that are not nice and straight . . . we also tend to make trails into the woods for the ATV or tractor and so any wood in the way of these trails is cut . . . finally we do take some "good" trees . . . but we try to leave the younger trees and older trees . . . preferring to leave some of the younger trees to grow for the next generation and some of the older trees to remain behind to continue to act as "seed" trees . . . finally we do not clear cut an area, but opt to selectively cut an area.

This makes sense to me....

 

[Wood Duck]

I would look for trees that I wouldn't miss. It may not be what a forester concerned with timber prodcution would recommend, but I'd keep the biggest, most impressive trees, and thin out smaller, more closely spaced trees. I'd also make sure to keep a nice mix of all species, which might simply mean don't cut the last few individuals of a tree species that I have only a few of. Last but not least, I'd have to think about ease of felling - I am not an expert - so that would mean I'd probably look for trees with a moderate lean toward a clear fall, or look for areas with many trees I'd like to take down and create a small clearing into which I could fell trees.
I find it a lot easier and safer to cut trees in the range of 10 inch to maybe 18 inch diameter rather than larger trees. Also, the larger ones I like to keep, even if they might have some rot or dead parts, just because I enjoy looking at taller, older trees. Around here, most woods have tons of small to medium trees that could be thinned, leaving a few small to medium trees to grow up and clearing the canopy to allow big trees to get even bigger. I would not cut all the dead standing wood. Dead trees house lots of wildlife so I'd keep some. I would cut dead standing oak, which rots from the outside and doesn't seem to be as useful for animals as other dead standing wood. Other woods tend to get a soft inside and allow woodpeckers to easily create holes, used by lots of wildlife. Besides, oak is the preferred firewood if you can get it seasoned.

 

[branchburner]

Thinning is sort of subjective for me, but if some trees are bunched really closely I try to decide if there's one that "doesn't belong." I really don't like taking down any healthy trees without at least some reasonably rationalized reason, given so much dead/down/diseased wood in the world.

 

[dmacfarland]

What to cut depends entirely upon your goals for the woodlot.
If firewood is your goal you should be able to cut 5 or more cords of wood every year indefinitely on a lot that size if it is a good site and presently well stocked.
If you always cut the worst first (poor species, rot, disease, oversized, crooked, leaners, broken tops, thin/dying crowns, low branches, small crowns) your woodlot will improve over time. Thin the areas that are stocked so heavily that nothing is growing vigorously. One day far in the future you could be cutting veneer oak for firewood, or selling a few logs.

If you don't select the survivors with your saw nature will choose the survivors for you, dealing with that in my lot now. Nature didnt pick the same winners i would have.

some reading:
http://ohioline.osu.edu/for-fact/pdf/0050.pdf
http://www.fnr.purdue.edu/inwood/past issues/managing red oak crop trees.htm

google "crop tree selection" or "crop tree management" for more.

 

[dmacfarland]

Beech makes great firewood, but can take over a woodlot if it is lightly cut over time as it is a shade tolerant species.
squirting a ring on the stump near the cambium of 40% roundup will prevent sprouting and kill the root suckers for about 10-20ft from the stump. My experience is you can treat the stump a day later and have good effect.

cornell did a paper on this but cant find it now.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

For your particular woodlot, being small, after you take the dead stuff, then first determine what trees you want to save! Then the decision will be much easier. I also agree that cutting the beech is good and it will give you good firewood. I would tend to let young stuff grow though.

For us, it is simple. Cut the ash because they are all dead or dieing.

 

[btuser]

I can only tell you what our family has done for years . . . and it works for us . . . a few years you can go back to where we cut out a load of wood and other than the stumps and maybe a bit of brush you would not be able to tell that we pulled several cords of wood from that area.

When culling wood we tend to look for the dead trees, leaning trees and trees that are not nice and straight . . . we also tend to make trails into the woods for the ATV or tractor and so any wood in the way of these trails is cut . . . finally we do take some "good" trees . . . but we try to leave the younger trees and older trees . . . preferring to leave some of the younger trees to grow for the next generation and some of the older trees to remain behind to continue to act as "seed" trees . . . finally we do not clear cut an area, but opt to selectively cut an area.

Absolutely. Take the ugly trees and leave the pretty ones.

 

[chumby]

If you hunt deer you may want to leave the white oak alone.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I agree chumby, but at the same time, we have a nice white oak on our place, probably the best one for size and that tree has never given us even one acorn.

 

[firefighterjake]

I agree chumby, but at the same time, we have a nice white oak on our place, probably the best one for size and that tree has never given us even one acorn.

Or maybe it has . . . but Chip and Dale and their pal Bambi have been getting to them before you!

 

[cjsplitter]

Backwoods, Something is wrong with that tree!! It is a bumper crop of acorns here. You could roller skate on them. I take out the popular and sasafras trees first.

 

[smokinj]

That much woods you can just take the dead stuff for Years.....

 

[Got Wood]

I agree chumby, but at the same time, we have a nice white oak on our place, probably the best one for size and that tree has never given us even one acorn.

consider yourself lucky - I HATE acorns I have 8 large Red Oaks in the back yard and usually spend a couple hours each week from Labor Day into October raking them up. The crop varies from year to year, above ave this year. The Oaks are really nice looking trees but messy - always picking up sticks & acorns, in the spring they give off this stringy crap and then the leaves take forever to fall and are large. They are to big and close to the house for me to think about taking down and at this point I'm not into spending the $$$ to have them taken down (got an estimate (actually 3 estimates all about the same) for one of the at $950 to drop it and chip the brush, leaving the stump and whatever length logs it came down with for me to take care of. They are staying around.... and I'll say it again I HATE ACORNS

 

[Wood Duck]

I agree chumby, but at the same time, we have a nice white oak on our place, probably the best one for size and that tree has never given us even one acorn.

I have several large White Oaks over the driveway that have never given an acorn in 6 years, then came through this year with a bumper crop. I wonder if it will be six more years until the next crop. Around here it seems like Chestnut Oak gives the biggest acorns, and being in the white oak group, probably gives acorns that wildlife really likes. There are so many acorns this year on all the oaks it is hard to tell what the deer are eating - the ground is covered by acorns of all types.

 

[vvvv]

might be worth a call to local forestry service

 

[wendell]

I would call your local county extension office and have the forester come out and help you with a plan. Be good to get some trained eyes in there as they will see things that you wouldn't.

 

[chrisfallis]

I love to stand in the middle of a woodlot, gas and oil jugs at my feet, a freshly sharpened chain on my Stihl and yell "only you can prevent a forest!" My apologies to Smokey the Bear.

 

[spur0701]

Thanks for all the input, appreciate it. Ironically I had the entire woodlot in a forest conservation program in order to get a tax break but took it out a couple of years ago.....at that time the state foresters gave me a maintenance plan but that mainly addressed wildlife and lumber production. After all the leaves come down I'm going to run a couple more access trails to parts of the lot I don't get to that often. I do hunt the property and have 4 stands with plenty of oaks and acorns but with what I've seen so far I should rarely need to even take down an oak unless it's a red oak (a lot of those seem to be dying) or diseased/damaged.

 

[drozenski]

Walk your property

Bring very bright can of spray paint.

Follow other users advice.

Mark any trees that you want to take down

Enjoy next 2-4 years of just walking though the woods with easy to spot trees