FORESTRY TEST BASICS

How To Measure the Diameter of a Tree? Stand next to the trunk (if on an non-level slope – then stand on the uphill side of the trunk) Use the Biltmore Stick or Diameter tape. Measure at 4.5 feet above the ground where you are standing Read the stick or tape – YOU ARE DONE!!!

Minnesota Vegetation Biomes Laurentian Mixed Forest – Mainly coniferous with mixes of aspen and some small pockets of other deciduous hardwoods Eastern Broadleaf Forest – Mainly deciduous forest trees including oaks, maples, basswood, hickories Prairie Parklands – Prairie grasslands Aspen Parklands – Aspen savanna – mainly tallgrass prairie dotted with aspen trees in the landscape

Common Forest Types of Minnesota Aspen-birch Black Spruce Black Walnut Bottom Hardwoods Eastern White Pine Jack Pine Northern Hardwoods Oak-Hickory Northern White Cedar Red Pine Spruce Fir Tamarack

Crown Classification Trees classified into 4 crown classes – Dominant – entire crown or most of it dominates canopy at highest level – Codominant – half of crown dominating canopy, along with other codominant trees – Intermediate – just underneath the main canopy – almost waiting for a gap in the canopy for an opening to fill in – Suppressed – clearly in lower level of forest, well below the main canopy

Succession Forests (and all other habitats) change over time The change in species composition of an ecosystem over time is called ecological succession. Communities move from “younger” to “older” stages of succession.

Types of Succession Primary Succession – establishing plant communities in once lifeless areas (bare rocks, parking lot) Secondary Succession – establishing plant communities in already life-filled areas

Other Succession Notes Succession usually ends in a “climax” community (when plant community is in equilibrium) Succession is not always predictable – could end up with different climax community each time. Disturbance often creates the most species richness.

Timber Harvesting Methods Ranked from most vegetation removal at a time to least vegetation removal at a time – Clearcutting – cut all vegetation down at one sitting – Seed Tree – cut all vegetation except a few large seed trees. Come back next year and take those – Shelterwood – cut out a third of vegetation one year, the next third in the next year, the last third in the last year – Group Tree Selection – Cut a small patch of trees in the landscape each year. New patch selected each year – Single Tree Selection – Cut out individual trees randomly from the forest. Each year a random subset of trees.

Timber Harvesting Clearcutting/Seed Tree/Shelterwood – Pros Limited disturbance – for clearcuts, only one visit to site over many years Extract all timber at once – good profit Starts succession over again – restarts some species growth Keeps forest about the same age of trees (since all got cut down around same point of time) – Cons Lots of erosion problems – since you clear vegetation Ugly If done improperly, can lead to lack of regeneration Not good for certain wildlife

Timber Harvesting Group Selection and Single Tree Selection – Pros Not all the trees removed…looks not ugly at any point in time Good for forest wildlife…less overall disturbance Small areas cleared can allow existing trees more resources to grow better (less competition) – Cons Requires many site visits (one a year…disturbance is high over many years) Not lots of money each year – as not a lot of trees cut down each year Does not completely start a regeneration of the forest