Envirothon Forestry Manual (COMPLETE W/LAWS)

1 log

16 ft

1 chain

66 ft

How many chains are in a mile?

88

How many square chains are in an acre?

10

What percent forested is Massachusetts?

61%

Name 6+ Forest Products

Maple syrup, firewood, logs suitable for lumber, veneer, furniture, paneling, landscape ties, wood pallets, flooring, woodchips

1 Cord =

128 cubic feet (4' x 4' x 8')

1 Board Foot =

1/12 cubic feet (1' x 1' x 1'')

MBF =

1,000 board feet

DBH = ____ ft

4.5

1 Acre = ______ sq ft

43,560 sq ft

1 mile = ____ ft

5280 feet

1 square mile = _____ acres

640

1 gallon of Maple Syrup = ____ gallons of Maple sap boiled down

40

Silviculture is

the care and treatment of a stand of trees. Involves the application of knowledge to control the establishment, composition and growth of the forest. OR the art + science of managing th vegetation in the forest to produce a desired effect + benefit

Steps of Timber stand improvement(TSI)

Weeding, releasing, thinning

When does weeding occur?

5-20 years, DBH < 4"

When does releasing occur?

10-40 years, Pole 4-10"

When does thinning occur?

25+ years, done every 5-10 years. Pulp and saw logs 8"

Goal of weeding

remove undesirable species to improve species composition of the stand.

Goal of releasing

remove inferior trees, improving growth conditions for crop trees and further improving species composition

Goal of thinning

remove trees from dense stands to gain faster growth of to be harvested trees

Best way to remove cull trees

Girdling, slow kill to prevent sunscald and provide habitat

Pruning

The removal of limbs from young trees to provide high quality logs

Goal of harvest cuttings

to harvest the mature crop, to regenerate the stand, and to improve and protect the growing stock reserve in uneven-aged forests

Name the four types of harvest techniques

Selection, clear, shelterwood, seed tree cutting

Describe selection cutting

Trees sorted into three age classes, with one third of all trees harvested as they mature. The elderly are cut every 10-15 years; can be cut singly or in groups/patches.

In selection cutting, what trees are favored by harvest of elderly trees singly? What are favored by cutting in patches?

Single tree removal favors shade tolerant, while group removal is better for the less shade tolerant

Describe clear cutting

Removes all trees in an operation. Most economically efficient, but environmentally damaging

Describe shelterwood cutting

2 cut shelterwood removes half of trees, 3 cut shelterwood removes 1/3. Seedlings develop in the shade of the protective overstory.

Describe seed tree cutting

Cuts most trees and leaves widely scattered trees of the highest caliber, seeds come from superior trees that are left. Good for species with many seedlings

Which harvesting technique is an uneven-aged system?

Selection cutting

Six types of Integrated Pest Management

Biological, chemical, mechanical, silvicultural, wildlife, and regulatory

Biological IPM

releasing parasites or predators that prey on the pest population

Chemical IPM

pesticides, pheromone behavior modifiers, fumigants

Mechanical IPM

eliminating tree debris used by pests for shelter, eliminating alternative host species, reducing undesirable seed sources

Silvicultural IPM

Harvesting mature stands, cutting susceptible trees, using risk-rating schemes

Wildlife IPM

reducing the quality of the land as a habitat for wildlife species causing tree damage

Regulatory IPM

abiding by quarantine regulations

Major trees of first forest

Red oak, white pine, eastern hemlock

Major animals of first forest

Elk, caribou, moose, mountain lion, and timber wolves

First forest main events and impacts

Majority of forests cut down for wood products and for agriculture, forest animals gone, wild turkey and beaver populations severely reduced due to trapping, lots of stone walls for cattle and crop fences, until finally more fertile land out west drew farmers away from the area

Major trees of second forest

White pine, grey birch

Major animals of second forest

deer, shrub grazers

Second forest main events and impacts

Boxboard boom. Panama canal and railroads boosted shipping, so young pine forests were harvesting to make shipping containers. Harvest made way for oaks and maples

Major trees of third forest

oaks and maples

Third forest main events and impacts

The Trustees of Reservations and MA Forestry Association were formed due to exploitation and lack of conservation of forests. Many forest reservations created. Office of State Forester established in 1904, in 1910 sent staff to work on controlling the gypsy moth epidemic. State Forest Commision created. Chestnut Blight killed most Chestnuts, Dutch Elm disease killed most American Elms, Gypsy Moths proliferate, defoliated thousandss of oak and maples, Great Hurricane of 1938 blew down millions of trees

biological diversity

a measure of the range of different species of plants and animals, their communities, and the ecological cycles they depend on to survive.

three main threats to biodiversity in Massachusetts forests

Deforestation and habitat destruction, invasive species, not enough of forests in seedling stage

Give three examples of invasive species

European Buckthorn, Asian Bittersweet, Japanese Honeysuckle

What does NHESP stand for?

National Heritage & Endangered Species Program

Forests help maintain water purity by

Breaking the impact of falling rain on soil and rocks, reducing erosion and the carrying of eroded sediments into streams and rivers, reducing turbidity.

6 factors that influence forest health

Human activity, air quality, weather, soil, insects, and diseases.

A preventative approach to forest health problems includes the following 2 steps:

1) Having a wide variety of tree species and ages, so that even if an environmental factor completely wipes out certain trees, there will still be enough unaffected trees to keep the forest going.

2) Thinning out weaker trees to give healthy trees the best chance of survival and enough resources.

Massachusetts slash law

Slash (remnants of trees from logging) must be removed within 100 ft of roads, boundaries and other important areas, must be put close to the ground so they decay faster.

Wildlife management falls into which three categories?

-Managing for diversity

-Protecting existing habitats

-Enhancing and existing habitats

Highly valued species

White pine, red oak, sugar maple, white ash, black cherry

lower valued species

Hemlock, birch, beech, red maple

Cultural Resources

places containing evidence of people who once lived here

Name the 5 forest layers

The forest canopy, intermediate layer, shrub layer, herbacious layer, ground layer

Forest Succession

a process of changes in the species composition of the community over time

Difference between Primary and secondary succession

Primary begins with no soil or vegetation, secondary begins after disturbance clears ground

4 benefits of forest fires

1) Clears dead and dying trees and debris from trees to make space for new growth

2) Enhances Natural Selection by clearing out weak and diseased trees and leaving the strong ones

3) Recycles nutrients with mineral rich ash

4) Opens serotinous cones

The most common cause of fires in MA

Human activity

When is the fire season in Massachusetts?

March-May, fall

3 drawbacks of forest fires

1) Endangers homes, property and people living in and around forests

2)Smoke from fire degrades air quality

3) When hasn't burned for a long time, they can all burn at once in a catastrophic fire

Prescribed burn

A fire that is ignited and managed by trained personnel with predetermined fuel and weather conditions.

5 benefits of prescribed burns

1) Can prepare a logged forest for reforestation

2) Enhances wildlife habitat

3) Gives native plants an advantage over invasive ones

4) Controls insect populations and disease outbreaks

5) Uses up forest fuels, reducing risk of catastrophic fire

Street trees have an average lifespan of ____ years

7

Arbor Day was created in ____

1872

Define "urban forest"

All tree resources associated with centers of 100 or more people in cities, towns & suburbs

Benefits of urban forest

Energy conservation (shade up to 30%, windbreaks 10-50%), increase property value by up to 20%, filters air, reduces Climate change and urban heat island, Stormwater and erosion control, blocks noise pollution, provides wildlife habitat

Challenges to urban trees

Air pollution, soil compaction, urban heat islands, drought, poor nutrition, attacks by killer humans

Bud Scale

modified leaf to protect bud's interior

Bud Scale Scar

marks 1 year of growth, where last year's terminal bud was

Leaf Scar

Where leaf was attached to the stem

Bundle Scar

Where vascular bundles of leaves were

Abscission layer

corky layer that develops where stem joins twig, cuts off food + water supply

Lenticels

corky vents for gas exchange

Pith

food storage tissue

Merchantable Height

Highest point where tree is merchantable/usable for lumber (height to minimum diameter of 8 in/when tree breaks into many branches)

Biltmore Stick

Measures tree diameter, hold 25 in. away from eyes

Merritt hypsometer

Measures height in logs, stand 1 chain away, hold 25 in. away from eyes (Also Biltmore stick)

Clinometer

Measures height in ft, stand 1 chain/100 ft away, look up to top of tree, look down to bottom, add 2 numbers

Tangent Height Gauge

Measures height in ft, walk back until top of tree can be seen in both holes + height gauge is level, add distance from tree + height to eye level

DBH rules

Tapering: measure at smallest, record height

Bump or Branch: measure directly below

Leaning: Measure perpendicular to tree axis, 4.5 ft up in direction of lean

Vertical Tree on a slope: Measure perpendicular to tree, 4.5 ft above ground on uphill side

Forking: Measure at narrowest part of stem below fork

Splitting Tree: Measure dbh of each trunk separately 3.5 ft above where it starts swelling, dbh for tree = sqrt(sum of all squared DBH)

Canopy/Overstory

Made up of dominant + codominant trees (sunlight on 2-4 sides of crown), grows best in full sun

Intermediate Layer

trees receive sunlight on top only

Suppressed layer/understory

smaller overstory species + shade tolerant species, shaded by overstory

Shrub layer

woody shrubs

herbaceous layer

most diverse, non-woody species

ground layer/forest floor

soil builders + stabilizers (fungi, moss, lichen)

5 major kinds of habitat in MA

active agricultural fields, abandoned fields/pastures, forest lands, aquatic habitat, swamps + marshes

Edge

where 2 habitats meet

When does maple syrup production occur?

late winter-early spring

Natural regeneration benefits

less expensive, trees already adapted to area

Artificial regeneration benefits

opportunity for even aged genetically superior trees, good for areas without seed trees for natural regeneration

Chapter 131

Wetlands Protection Act

-regulates work involving cutting wood/construction near wetlands and areas prone to flooding

-linked to Rivers protection act (regulates activities in 200 ft strip along perennial streams)

Chapter 132

Forest Cutting Practices Act

-regulates any commercial timber cutting >25000 board ft or 50 cords at once

-need to file forest cutting plan to DCR w/on site inspection

-can file to be exmpt from Chapter 131

Chapter 61

Forest Tax Program

-annual 95% tax reduction for forest owners with at least 10 contiguous acres of land under 10 yr management plan approved by state forester