Burning hardwoods question

[String Music]

How much damage does a cool burn cause to mast producing trees?

 

[JCDEERMAN]

I think Oaks are resistant to burns. Other than that, I dont know

 

[Diehard Hunter]

Not much as long as it is only a ground fire. However, if it gets up on the trunks or burns too hot, it can kill the oaks.

 

[WestTn Huntin man]

AS long as it's not too hot damage will be not be a concern. If the bark is burned it can give insects a opening to get in and cause a slow death from diease and decay.

 

[MickThompson]

I have burned upland hardwoods several times and there are several things to consider. First, if you leave any slash or logs at the base of trees, you will damage them and possibly kill them. The goal (usually) when burning hardwoods is to release seeds in the litter to germinate, so a cool fire (<3' flames) is all that is needed to consume the fallen leaves. Woods fires are a more technical fire in that there is greater potential for property damage to your timber and a greater chance of escape. I would advise you to contact your county forester. They can help you put in firebreaks and burn as well.

Here's one last thing to consider- You really won't realize the potential benefits to wildlife unless you thin the overstory first.

I'm in grad school at UT right now researching this very topic, so feel free ask me if you have any questions.

 

[String Music]

I live right beside UT. I love chainsawing all the scrub trees on ridges and in our mature hardwoods. However, one of the owners prefers to set a cool burn every year. I can see some damage to our oak trees but can't convince him it does damage. I know how good burning is, but I thought it was geared more towards old fields rather than hardwoods. I have cut a lot of understory back from our mature mast trees. I'm hoping this will promote more forest floor growth and give more sunlight to our oaks. Is this any reason to add a fire to the mix?

 

[MickThompson]

The first thing to realize is that we're not really adding fire to the mix as much as we are restoring it. Fire is a natural process and our southern hardwood forests developed with it at regular intervals. For deer and turkeys, fire has many of the same benefits in the woods as it does in old fields. it increases cover at ground level (important for nesting and brooding turkeys), stimulates the seedbank (food for deer and turkeys), and keeps browse in reach of deer. Our data shows that thinning the overstory alone increases the browse available to deer by 3x. When this is followed by prescribed fire, available browse increases 10x. I would think that an annual burn is overdoing it some, but we generally can't burn more than every two years because there isn't enough fuel to carry a fire. I would recommend burning on average every 3 to 5 years.

Out of curiosity, what month do you generally burn?

 

[MickThompson]

What we are mainly trying to accomplish through repeated fires is shifting the plant community to more wildlife-friendly species and suppressing woody encroachment.

 

[String Music]

We usually burn in February and March. So lighting the leaves on fire on ridges won't have any negative effects on white/red oaks?

Also, I do a lot of hinge-cutting, wouldnt a fire not destroy the effects of a good hinge-cut?

I am overrun with red maples. I have been cutting a lot of them. Would a good burn get rid of most of them or just cause more stems to pop up?

 

[Chaneylake]

if you are ever planning on selling the timber on the property, I would not do any burning

 

[MickThompson]

If you maintain low flame heights and clear limbs and slash from the bases of your oaks you shouldn't have any problems. A study out of Virginia that looked at oak response following thinning and fire found that 95% of the oaks weren't damaged by the fire, and of the ones that were, most of them had slash at the base. This debris holds fire against the bark and will kill the cambium. We have noticed that beeches and maples are much more susceptible to fire than oaks, and that many have died as a result of our burning.

If you thin and burn, you have hinge cuts on steroids.

Red maples, sassafras, and yellow poplar saplings are absolutely tenacious. We have been burning in April after leaves are emerging and are still just top-killing them. We are trying to set up another study to look at the effects of the season of burn- spring vs. fall. A fall burn may be more effective because it will damage the undesirable species before they can pull their resources back into their roots.

As Chaney said, fire is a risk that must be considered if you are planning a timber harvest.

 

[String Music]

Let me know if you can figure out a way to kill red maple. I know deer will browse on them a little bit in the winter, but our ridges are covered with them.

So as long as there is not brush or any other pile up around an oak, they are ok?

 

[MickThompson]

Yes, the oaks will be fine as long as the fire doesn't get too hot

 

[birddoginQ]

Consider the shade tolerance of maples as well as seed production and the seed bank that maples have. Thinning the canopy and letting more light in may help with releasing oaks and help them to compete with maples. But if you have a closed canopy maples will always do well because of their shade tolerance. Maples also tend to be prolific sprouters especially when young, you may try a fall application of herbicide if you are dead set on thinning them out.

 

[PickettSFHunter]

I would love to burn. Especially if it would help kill beech trees. But just cant do it in my rough terrain without it getting out to a neighboring property.

 

[MickThompson]

We have done some work with Garlon and it kills the stew out of them. We saw >90% reduction in understory stem density. The problem is that it can be pricey initially and we just recently completed this treatment in 2006 so we don't know how long the effects will last.

 

[MickThompson]

Steven, TDF may be able to put in firebreaks with a dozer for you if there are some areas you feel that you would be able to contain the fire on. Patches of burned and unburned areas both have attraction and habitat value for deer and turkeys and a mosiac of habitats is usually best. As for the beeches, you could also consider girdling them and herbiciding the wound with 50% Garlon & water. This is best done in the fall when they are pulling reserves back into the roots.

 

[hard county]

Good info, By the way, I asked my local extension agent and he recomended never burning around deciduous trees, this will "scar the timber". I had the idea to rake away leaves from the bases of trees to prevent this, but was unsure of whether to take the chance.

 

[MickThompson]

If your ultimate goal is timber production and you already have marketable timber, then it may not be the best practice. However, if your main focus is wildlife management, you are overlooking a major asset if you do not manage your woods and only focus on foodplots and old fields.

 

[BSK]

Great stuff Mick. I've been following your and Craig's research closely.