LORAX FORESTRY SERVICES

ECOLOGICAL FOREST MANAGEMENT 2012

AMY BLOOD, THEO DIEHL, AND ALISSA GREGORY

Management Area

Contains 69.26 acres of forested land Divided into four stands with separate management plans Each have varied ecology as well as different land use histories

Stand One
8.67 acres of forest Primarily an Atlantic White Cedar swamp Soil largely consists of muck, with the NW side lined with Atsion sand. Geographically, the stand sits atop the Cohansey Sand formation. Morses Mill, a stream, runs directly through he stand

Stand Two
13.81 acres of forest Oak-pine forest with recent history of burns Soil consists entirely of Downer loamy sand. Sits over the Cohansey Sand and Bridgeton formations Largely understocked and degraded by gypsy moth attacks

Significant Oak Components of Stands Two and Three

Stand Three
16.03 acres of forest Oak-pine forest with recent history of burns Soil consists entirely of Downer loamy sand. Sits over the Cohansey Sand and Bridgeton formations Largely understocked and degraded by gypsy moth attacks

Evidence Of Recent Burns in Stand Three

Evidence Of Recent Burns in Stand Three

Charred trees!

More dense, less light

Less dense, more light

You are here

Stand Four
30.75 acres of forest Large tract of land containing mostly upland pine-oak forests, with the areas surrounding Lake Fred and Stand 1 being lowland hardwood and Atlantic White Cedar swamps Muck soils along water, Atsion sand bordering Stand One, Downer loamy sand encompassing western portion. Sits over the Cohansey Sand and Bridgeton formations Not burned recently, dense forest with thick understory

Degraded and Dense

Dense, thin, sad looking pines

Tall understory

Years of litter layer buildup

Stand Four also has a lowland swamp component in its northern fringe

Mr. Phillip Phun 30 year old from Hoboken, NJ Owns an internet marital aids store Wants to use the forest recreationally Concerns: Overall aesthetic quality Protection from pests & threats Minimal cutting Must meet Farmland Tax Assessment

 Apply silvicultural methods modeled after the

Stoddard-Neel approach. Create sources of income through plantings of ginkgo, ginseng, and shiitake mushrooms. Increase biodiversity and wildlife viewing/hunting opportunities

Prescribed Burns
Divide the management area, excluding Stand One, into ten burn patches. Burn two patches annually Will create five-year rotation cycle for each patch Different times of burn will result in a mosaic of densities and age classes

Thinnings
Thin the stands prior to initial burn Focus on oaks Attempt to restore pine forest similar to pre-fire suppression times Reduce ladder fuels to prevent canopy fire

Plantings
Clearcut an acre of Stand Four to use as a ginkgo plantation Still aesthetically pleasing Plant ginseng in patches surrounding the ginkgo plantation.

Stand One

 Leave the stand mainly untouched, as it already provides significant aesthetic pleasure. Single-tree selection Thin for small poles (4 to 6 in. DBH) of Atlantic White Cedar at $1000/acre. Monitor annually for pests

 Thin in first year, favoring the removal of small oaks (4-6 in. DBH).

Harvest 33 white oaks, each to be cut down into 3 foot logs that will be used for the inoculation of shiitake mushrooms

Colinus virginianus

Single-tree selection
Create open areas for quail, turkey, and deer to roam and feed Retain some dense areas to allow for wildlife shelter Meleagris gallopavo

Odocoileus virginianus

Introduce quail in year 5 to most recently burned patch

Fire increases nutrient content and availability of food

Southern pine beetle exit holes Bacterial leaf scorch

Gouty oak gall

 Thin in year 1 to reduce ladder fuels. Reduce basal area of stand by 40%. Harvest firewood from thin. Prescribed burn entire stand in year 1, and subsequently follow fiveyear rotation in patches. Clearcut 1 acre in year 3 to establish ginkgo plantation. Plant as seedlings Harvest annually after year 10

Plant ginseng in year 1 within 500 ft of the soonto-be ginkgo plot. Must not be burned after initial burn until harvest and reseeding. Monitor annually for signs of disease and pests.

We speak for the trees, as does Mr. Phun

Wants to meet farmland tax assessment requirements, but with minimal cutting Dislikes the look of stumps

Basic Requirements: 1. Applicant must own the land.

He does.

2.

Owner must annually apply for Farmland Assessment on Form FA-1 with the municipal tax assessor on or before August 1 of the year immediately preceding the tax year.
He will.

3.

Land must be devoted to agricultural or horticultural uses for at least two years prior to the tax year (also see Qualifying Woodland, page 8).
It will be.

4.

Land must consist of at least 5 contiguous (adjoining) acres being farmed and/or under a woodlot management plan. Land under and adjoining the farmhouse is not counted in the 5 acre minimum area needed to qualify.

There are 69.26 conjoining acres. All are either being farmed or are under a woodlot management plan.

5.

Gross sales of products from the land must average at least $500 per year for the first 5 acres, plus an average of $5 per acre for each acre over 5, except in the case of woodland or wetland where the income requirement is $.50 per acre for any acreage over 5.

The landowner will make more than $532.13 a year, as is required.

6.

Owner must represent that the land will continue in agricultural or horticultural use to the end of the tax year.
The landowner intends on managing the forest agriculturally indefinitely.

http://www.state.nj.us/agriculture/FarmlandAssessmentGuide.pdf

Non-timber Forest Products

Honey Pine Needles Vines

Blueberries
Maple Syrup Ginkgo Ginseng Shiitake Mushrooms

Agricultural/Forest Incomes
25000

20000

Income in USD

15000

10000

5000

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Management Year

*Red line represents $532.13

 Medicinal
Aphrodisiac
Strong Antioxidant

HardyResistant to Threats Ornamental Can be harvested for leaves, bark, and nuts Non-Native, but poses no danger of being invasive Dioecious

 Year 3
One acre in Stand 4 is to be clearcut
5,000 male trees will be planted

Years 4 through 9
Pruning Fertilization

Year 10 (and on)

Harvesting for leaves

Pruning
Fertilization

 Costs:
Year 3 Planting-- $30,000 (5,000 saplings at $6 each)
Years 4-9 Pruning and Fertilizing-- $50 a year

Incomes:
Years 10+ Leaf Harvesting-- $19,000 a year (4,750 pounds of dried leaves at $4 a pound)

 Costs: Year 3 Planting-- $28,835 (5,000 saplings at $6 each) Years 4-9 Pruning and Fertilizing-- $389 total Incomes: Years 10+ Leaf Harvesting-- $794,918 over a lifetime

Ginkgo Sustainable Yield : $765,424

 Medicinal
Aphrodisiac Boosts

Immune System Relieves Stress

Requires
Dense

Is harvested for roots Takes approximately 6 years for roots to mature

Canopy Well-drained moist soil

 Year 1
Seeds are to be planted in Stand 4
Deer fence will be put around 10 ginseng beds

Years 2-7, 9-14, 16-21, etc.

Calcium and Potassium will be added

Years 8, 15, 22, etc.

Harvest and Replant

 Costs:
Year 1 Planting-- $25 (1,650 seeds) Deer fence $800 (200 feet at $4 a foot)
Years 2-7, 9-14, 16-21, etc. Nutrient Additions-- $10 a year

Incomes:
Years 8, 15, 22, etc. Harvesting-- $1,600 (8,000 roots harvested at 0.01 dried pounds per root and $200 a pound)

 Costs:
Year 1 Planting-- $25 (1,650 seeds) Deer fence $800 (200 feet at $4 a foot)
Years 2-7, 9-14, 16-21, etc. Nutrient Additions-- $490 total

Incomes:
Years 8, 15, 22, etc. Harvesting-- $10,751 total ($1600 every six years, starting at year seven)

Ginseng Sustainable Yield : $9,436

 Medicinal

Used for Cooking

Grow on logs Can be harvested yearly on a rotating basis

Easy to harvest

 Year 1
133 Thinned oak logs from Stands 2 and 3 will be

inoculated
Years 2+
Harvest and Inoculate

 Costs:
All Years Inoculation-- $250 a year for spores and wax

Incomes:
Year 2 Harvesting -- $259 Year 3 Harvesting -- $518 Years 4+ Harvesting -- $1036

 Costs:
All Years Inoculation-- $12,500 total

Incomes:
Year 2 Harvesting -- $253.92 Year 3 Harvesting -- $497.89 Years 4+ Harvesting -- $49,748 total

Shiitake Sustainable Yield : $38,000

 Fire
Year 1, $610 (61 acres burned at $10 an acre) Years 2+, $110 a year (11 acres burned at $10 an acre)

Taxes
Years 1 and 2, $14,983.50 a year Years 3+, $317.13 a year

Disease/Pest Monitoring
$75 a year, every year

Soil Testing
$20 a year, every seven years

Quail Introduction
Year 5, $139

Girdling for Snags

Year 2, $200

 Cedar Thinning
Year 4, $8,670 (8.67 acres at $1000 an acre)

Oak Thinning
Year 1, $1,487.50 (29.75 acres at $50 an acre)

Clearcutting of 1 acre of Stand 4

Year 3, $300 (1 acre at $300 an acre)

 Costs
Fire -- $6,000
Taxes -- $44,901.66 Soil & Pest/Disease Monitoring -- $3,896.50 Quail Introduction -- $139

Girdling for Snags -- $196.08

Incomes
Cedar Thinning -- $8,170

Oak Thinning -- $1,487.50

Clearcutting -- $288

Other Sustainable Yield: -$45,187.70

 Ginkgo + Ginseng + Shiitake Mushrooms + Other

Income = Total Sustainable Income $765,424 + $9,436 + $38,000 - $45,187.70 =

$767,672.30

$767,672.30

$767,672.30

Amount of Net Income

140000.00 120000.00

Amount of Money, in USD

100000.00

80000.00

60000.00 40000.00 20000.00 0.00

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

-20000.00

-40000.00

-60000.00 -80000.00

Year of Management
Most Debt: $59,185.50 (Year 3) Forest Begins Making Profit: $14,349.88 (Year 13)

 Mr. Phun wants to use the land recreationally!

HUNTING BIRDWATCHING
WILDLIFE IS ESSENTIAL TO THESE EXPERIENCES

CAMPING
HIKING

 Bobwhite Quail

White-tailed Deer
Wild Turkey

BOBWHITE QUAIL

(COLINUS VIRGINIANUS)
Prefer open hardwood and pine forests Requires open space for foraging, yet enough dense space for shelter Uneven aged forests preferable Fire stimulates plant growth and nutrient content, and exposes insects Too short fire rotation = threat to nesting cover

WHITE-TAILED DEER
Too much slash hinders movement Prefers uneven-aged stands Open areas for feeding, covered areas in winter for shelter Fire Pros Reduce parasites Reduce litter Increase in plant nutrient content Cons Can trap and kill deer Temporarily decreases availability of fruit and mast

(ODOCOILEUS VIRGINIANUS)

WILD TURKEY

(MELEAGRIS GALLOPAVO)
Populations generally decline when faced with heavy cutting and burning Not a problem Stoddard Neel Prefer open, mature forests to allow effective travel and protection Fire can stimulate plant growth and expose insects Preferably 4 to 6 year rotation cycle

 Hard mast Oaks produce acorns en masse Essential to all of these animals survival, as well as the other creatures of the forest Shelter Atlantic White Cedar swamps in Stand 1 and the top of Stand 4 provide year-round cover from the elements Rotation cycles allow different cover types in other stands

 Stoddard-Neel approach Thinnings Create multiple age classes Different canopy covers will create variations in understory vegetation density Prescribed burns Stimulate plant growth Create mosaic of understory growth some bare, some dense Presence of hard mast Select large oaks with full, rounded crowns Most reliable and steady seed production

Legacies
(Sitta canadensis)

(Melanerpes carolinus)

Girdle trees to create snags, as well as retain existing snags Serve as homes for cavity-nesting birds 12 snags per acre

(Picoides pubescens)

(Certhia americana)

Different species utilize different strata of the forest!

Sparrows

Catbirds
Cardinals Some Warblers Wrens

Thrushes

Most Warblers Woodpeckers

Kinglets

Nuthatches

Blackbirds Grosbeaks

Crows

Robins

Chickadees Mourning Doves

Blackbirds Grosbeaks Most Warblers Woodpeckers

Crows

Robins

Chickadees Mourning Doves

Kinglets Nuthatches

Sparrows

Catbirds

Thrushes Some Warblers Wrens

Cardinals

 Mr. Phun wants to see the beauty of the forest Trails will be preferable for ease of travel Fire breaks can function as trails No significant physical disturbance to the forest He only visits occasionally Less direct impact on wildlife surrounding trails

Southern Pine Beetle

Extremely destructive to pines Feed directly on phloem tissue Create winding galleries that eventually completely block phloem movement and girdle the tree Carry blue-stain fungi Blocks water flow through xylem Eventually kills tree

Management plan: Monitor annually for signs of an attack In case of an attack, immediately remove affected tree(s) as well as surrounding trees to prevent spread

Something wicked this way comes

Galleries on the inside of tree Beetles are in the tree Beetles are out of the tree

And on to the next one

DISEASE

GOUTY OAK GALL

BACTERIAL LEAF SCORCH

Conclusions The land will be converted from an ignored, degraded

forest to one that is healthy and biologically diverse The forest will be protected from attacks from pests, disease, and wildfire The cost of taxes for the land will be kept low thanks to the Farmland T ax Assessment Mr. Phun will enjoy his time in Phun Forest and show his friends how to have fun in a forest

Questions?

Thank you