Vines good for anything?

[jeanw]

wow honeysuckle and bermuda grass bad here on this place plus poison Ivy and P oak too.
Oh I get "Farm Show" magazine people on there are training their herds etc to eat "weeds" and even kutzu... very interesting...
mentioned to Hubby be nic e to temp borrow a hungry goat o eat the JUnky honeysuckle...Yeah I know its supposedly edible but its killing so many trees here

 

[Tar12]

I saved a big mature maple shade tree here on my property. This vine was huge and was killing this tree.I cut it loose at the ground with a chainsaw! I then hooked up a log chain to it and slowly started bumping it till I had the majority of it peeled off of the tree. The rest of it died right away and the tree survived and sprung back to its original glory.I keep a very close eye on it.

 

[neverbilly]

...
I always feel like disturbing nature's balance is, in general, a mistake. Are vines good for anything from a woodlot management perspective? Or should I continue ripping them out guilt-free whenever I find them?

What you wrote above is exactly my brother's opinion. He is a biologist and admonished me for wanting to do (and doing) exactly what you are talking about. He gave me several examples of birds feasting on vine berries. For instance, there is a small vine with thorns called Smilax and he is astonished that a fellow biologist despises the thorny stuff and cuts it with abandon.

However, the ones that choke a tree down or disfigure it, what the heck, I want to whack 'em. Also, the huge vines, I don't know if they have berries. I do know the big ones can certainly make cutting a tree down more dangerous.

 

[HisTreeNut]

I have issues with holly trees and the hearty English Ivy that a former neighbor wanted in her yard...yeah, it didn't stay there. Wifey is allergic to ivy, so it has to go. I have eradicated about 75% of ivy. The dry summer last year was a huge help. The holly trees root systems all seem to be connected underground. Cut out one tree and another springs up on another piece of exposed root. I have gone to digging around the stumps and cutting out the stump 6" underground. Seems to be working.
As I work on my yard I remember something my Mom always said about gardening and yard work in general...and I reiterated to my father-in-law as i was removing stuff he thought I should keep. The main difference between a flower and a weed...??? The gardener."
To that end, if it is invasive ot you don't want it, get rid of it.

 

[Whitepine2]

What you wrote above is exactly my brother's opinion. He is a biologist and admonished me for wanting to do (and doing) exactly what you are talking about. He gave me several examples of birds feasting on vine berries. For instance, there is a small vine with thorns called Smilax and he is astonished that a fellow biologist despises the thorny stuff and cuts it with abandon.

However, the ones that choke a tree down or disfigure it, what the heck, I want to whack 'em. Also, the huge vines, I don't know if they have berries. I do know the big ones can certainly make cutting a tree down more dangerous.

Yes and the birds plant the seeds everywhere,we have new weeds it seems every year on the farm
which I think come with birdseed. Bittersweet has spread all over this area killing trees and taking over everything,when growing up never saw any also Russian olive now everywhere. I destroy all
I can with spray and big bushog mower "kill it all" before it takes over fields,pastures and woodland