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Sustainable Landowner Options for Aspen Forests. Charly Ray, Northern Ecosystem Services Jason Fischbach, UW-Extension. June 8, 2013. Project Collaborators. USDA Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) Grant Program UW Extension USDA NRCS office Ashland - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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Sustainable Landowner Options for Aspen Forests
Charly Ray, Northern Ecosystem ServicesJason Fischbach, UW-Extension
June 8, 2013
Project Collaborators
• USDA Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) Grant Program
• UW Extension• USDA NRCS office Ashland• Northland College and the Sigurd Olson
Environmental Institute (SOEI)• Chequamegon Bay Area Partnership (CBAP)• George Lulich• The Nature Conservancy
Sustainable forestry
• Historic forest cover and type• Representative range of disturbance• Watershed conserving management• Producing a range of forest products from
pulp to sawtimber from a range of natural species
Large Dead Trees
Coarse Woody Debris
Forestry in our Region Must Recognize Historic Disturbance and Succession
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
1936 1956 1968 1983 1996
Aspen/BirchAspen/Birch
Maple/BasswoodMaple/Basswood
For
este
d ar
ea in
thou
sand
acr
esThe Forest is Succeeding…Will We Let It?
Conifer migrationfrom drainages
Upland managementfor aspen
Longer-lived species are still present, but will
depend on humans to recover.
What’s Wrong With Aspen
• Nothing but….• Open vs. closed watershed function• Short life=limited market window• Limited products (pulp with limited sawlog)• Habitat limitations: lacks winter thermal
cover, mast, coarse woody debris, mid and lower canopy
• Sustainability of continued rotations is suspect
The Aspen Management Box
• Aspen is short-lived, relatively easy to harvest, and has a ready market
• Aspen regenerates vigorously in clearcuts outcompeting other species – it’s easy to manage
• Industry and government encourage aspen• Plus deer are strongly limiting white pine and
red oak regeneration in places
Are There Other Options?
Alternatives to Clear-Cutting Aspen
• Do nothing (let nature run its course)• Cut all aspen but leave everything else (slow
transition)• Cut some of the aspen (hastened transition)
– Capture some value of aspen– Limit suckering to encourage other species– Lack of seed and deer are major challenges– Risk of losing forest to brush or low-quality red
maple
Species Diversity
Project History
• Living Forest Cooperative – interested in value added products from forests and conservation management of forests – not just for timber
• Many landowners with aspen interested in some harvest but not clearcuts
• Little in the research or field regarding alternatives to clearcutting in aspen – focus on production
Components of Forest Ecosystems that Enhance Ecosystem Function
What We Know About the Project Location
Glacial Advance and RetreatCreated Our Soils andTopography
Land Type Associations
Legend
origveg
<all other values>
DESC_
aspen, white birch, pine
brush
hemlock, sugar maple, yellow birch, white pine, red pine
jack pine, scrub oak forests and barrens
oak - white oak, black oak, bur oak
oak openings - bur oak, white oak, black oak
open water
sugar maple, yellow birch, white pine, red pine
swamp conifers - white cedar, black spruce, tamarack, hemlock
white pine, red pine
white spruce, balsam fir, tamarack, white cedar, white birch, aspen
Pre-Settlement Vegetation Circa 1860
Project Location(White Pine-Red Pine)
Variability in the Clay Plain – Habitat Types
Habitat Typing Helps Us Understand the Potential of a Site
Often What’s Growing Now Is Not Maximizing the Potential of the Site
Quast Property
• 40-50 year old aspen dominated stands• Minor component of white pine, spruce, red
maple, balsam, northern hardwoods• Enrolled in MFL• Conservation easement• Fish Creek
Forest Stands
• A 5-112/A 0-51
• MFL required a harvest of the aspen
“Complete a shelterwood type harvest reducing crown closure to around 60%. The goal is to discourage aspen regeneration but allow more light to reach the understory to encourage natural and planted mixed pine/hardwood seedlings. Leave conifers for a seed source. Complete by 2012. Then within 5 years of the shelterwood harvest, establish an understory of seedlings of 900 seedlings per acre in conifer or hardwood seedlings other than aspen. May need to plant in order to do this. If understory meets stocking requirement, remove part or all of the remaining overstory where it can be done without damage to the understory. If understory stocking does not meet requirements, remove entire overstory to regenerate aspen. Cut all trees down to 2 inches DBH. Any healthy pine or spruce may be left. Snag and den trees may be left for wildlife.”
MFL Alternative Mandatory Practice for the stands
Our Research Project• What is the right amount of aspen to remove
via an “aspen shelterwood” on the clay plain?• We set up a timber sale to remove varying
amounts of aspen• Evaluate the response at 1, 7, and ? Years…
– Residual aspen (mortality and growth)– Aspen suckering– Non-aspen growth and regeneration– Shrub growth and colonization
Methods
• Marked harvest in February 2005• Plots established prior or immediately after
harvest• White pine planted at 300 tpa in April 2005• Data collected in fixed radius plots by FIA
technician• 1/10th acre plots for overstory trees• 1/300th acre plots for seedlings and saplings
The Data
What Happened to the Residual Aspen?
West Side
Average: $70.39/acre revenue to landowner
West Side
Residual Aspen Summary• There was some mortality, but no clear
relationship to residual basal area or removal intensity
• Continued growth resulted in a net gain of volume seven years after harvest
• Although value was left in the forest at the initial harvest, that value has appreciated and has provided aesthetic and other benefits
• Economic analysis is not yet complete
What Happened In the Understory?
Understory Summary• Aspen and non-aspen tree regeneration and
growth was sufficient to meet stocking levels, but not clearly correlated with overstory basal area
• The long-term competition between shrub and trees remains unclear
• More analysis remains to be done
Take Home Message
• Let’s go to the woods and take a look