{"id":2805,"date":"2014-07-03T14:41:31","date_gmt":"2014-07-03T18:41:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.northwoodscenter.org\/wordpress\/?page_id=2805"},"modified":"2017-04-17T16:52:21","modified_gmt":"2017-04-17T20:52:21","slug":"forestry-for-the-birds-crop-tree-release-with-gap-creation","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.northwoodscenter.org\/wordpress\/conservation\/forest-stewardship-institute-fsi\/spitzer-demonstration-forest\/forestry-for-the-birds-crop-tree-release-with-gap-creation\/","title":{"rendered":"Forestry For the Birds: Crop Tree Release with Gap Creation"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Black throated blue warbler (Dendroica caerulescens)<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

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Management Goals<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n
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  • Improve forest health<\/li>\n
  • Improve timber quality<\/li>\n
  • Enhance late-successional wildlife habitat<\/li>\n
  • Demonstrate and teach forestry practices<\/li>\n
  • Provide for non-motorized recreational use<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    History<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

    Hopkins Hill Rd existed as early as 1843 when John Beebe first settled nearby Hopkins Hill and established a small farm in the forest. By 1850 Beebe had cleared 100 acres around this farm to support livestock, vegetable farming, and maple sugaring. Farming continued in this area until at least the 1870s and some level of pasturing may have extended beyond the turn of the century. After reverting to softwood forest, areas of the stand were logged in the 1940s. More recent management includes stand-wide thinning in the 1960s, and a single tree\/group selection harvest in 2000. The most recent logging did not impact this part of the stand.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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    Stand Description<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

    Two separate areas of the Spitzer Forest were visited during this harvest. Stand 18, near the summit of Tripp Hill, is a relatively mature hardwood stand, with rich soils (nutrient-rich and less acidic) that support species such as sugar maple, yellow birch, and scattered basswood and butternut. Stand 7, while also a mature hardwood forest, has a slightly different species mix with more beech and white ash. Being adjacent to Hopkins Hill Rd (now discontinued), this forest has also had more human intervention and receives regular visits from skiers and hikers on the NorthWoods trail system.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

    \"FFTB<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

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    What is CTR with Gap Creation?<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

    As the name implies, this treatment combined two silvicultural practices. Crop Tree Release (CTR) is the selection of individual trees to keep\u2013 healthy, long-lived trees that will become high-value timber in the future. Each of these crop trees<\/b> is then freed from competition by removing some of the surrounding trees. This ensures that each crop tree has adequate space to survive and grow quickly (thereby increasing in value).<\/p>\n

    The other part of the treatment was Gap Creation. A canopy gap<\/b> is an opening in the forest overstory ranging from 1\/20th to 2 acres. In this harvest, the largest gap was around 1\/4 acre; small gaps promote more shade tolerant species and maintain less extreme conditions at the forest floor (temperature, light and moisture).<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>

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