Winter tends to be a bit quieter on the farm. It is a great time to get jobs done in your forest. So here are some suggestions to work off any Christmas excess.
Go for a walk
Access makes management happen. No access, no management. Simple as that. So take a walk through your forest. You’ll discover what needs to be done. The sooner an issue is spotted, the easier it is to sort it out.
And if you’re not too sure, ask your local forestry advisor.
Top your pathways once a year to prevent your access from getting overgrown with briars and whins.
Replace dead trees
Future tree selection and quality timber production depend on having many trees to choose from. Make sure to keep your tree stocking density as close to 100pc as possible.
You can estimate this by using circular plots. Place a stake in the ground and tie an eight-metre tape or string to the stake. Tighten the tape and walk around in a circle, counting all live trees within it.
Multiply the result by 50 to find the stocking density per hectare.
For instance, you should count 66 live oak trees within the circle, while Sitka spruce should have 50.
Check for nutrient deficiencies
Healthy trees will grow strongly, so make sure they have access to satisfactory nutrient levels. Levels and requirements vary according to the soil type and tree species.
Bear in mind, other factors such as poor drainage or poor vegetation control may also produce deficiency-like symptoms. So identify the issue before trying to rectify it
, then monitor the trees’ response and reassess fertiliser requirements.
Where symptoms occur, foliar analysis is recommended to determine the nature and the extent of a possible nutrient problem. Evergreen conifers should ideally be sampled in December.
See www.teagasc.ie/forestry for info how to take foliar samples and where to send them to for analysis.
Check drains
Good drainage is vital. A high water table leads to difficulties in nutrient uptake, while limited tree rooting space affects (future) tree stability.
So keep a close eye on the drainage system.
Check fences and gates
Keep browsing animals (sheep, deer, etc) out of your forest. They damage or kill trees by bark-stripping, eating of shoots or trampling on tree roots.
Trees browsed by animals will lose their commercial value very quickly.
Animals may also cause drains to collapse, initiating water logging and increasing windthrow risk.
Carry out formative shaping
Formative shaping of broadleaf trees is important as it will create longer straight lengths of quality timber. By removing forks or very large competing side branches, you ‘extend’ sawlog length.
This can be carried out in summer or winter but not in spring or autumn. This process should start early once trees are growing vigorously. Don’t remove too much of the foliage — the tree needs its leaves to grow strongly.
Mark potential crop trees
Winter is a good time to select the best trees (or potential crop trees) in your broadleaf forest. Some of these trees will go on to produce the final and intermediate sawlog timber.
PCTs should have good, straight stem form, have good vigour, be disease-free and be evenly distributed. Aim for 300 to 500 PCTs per hectare.
Select your future PCTs before the first thinning operation is carried out. The other trees you can regard as ‘fill’ and will gradually be removed, providing growing space for the PCTs.
Carry out high pruning
Once the final ‘sawlog length’ has been achieved by regular formative shaping, it’s time for high pruning, to avoid knots in the timber. Start by removing the lowest side branches, gradually removing branches up the tree as the tree develops.
Only PCTs are high pruned. High pruning tends to be initiated after a first thin operation.
Cut inspection paths
When a conifer forest is about 10 years old, inspection paths are required. This allows access into and through the forest so that the suitability for thinning (and timber quality) can be assessed.
It is also a great opportunity to check if any other issues need to be addressed, maybe a blocked drain.
There is a short, handy video on www.teagasc.ie/forestry explaining this process.
Review your insurance cover
Brexit has contributed to a drastic increase in the cost of forest insurance, but it is still advisable to insure your forest.
Understand what you are insuring. Policies may cover:
■ Loss of timber value due to fire and/or wind damage;
■ Cost of replanting;
■ Fire brigade charges;
■ Public liability and employer’s liability.
Buy a real Irish Christmas tree
Real Christmas trees are so much more environmentally friendly and carbon-neutral. You are also contributing to keeping real jobs in rural Ireland.
Irish growers produce around 650,000 Christmas trees each year, with 450,000 sold at home and about 200,000 exported abroad, mainly to France, Germany and the UK. The industry contributes €25m to the Irish economy.
You can’t have a real Christmas without a real Christmas tree!
Steven Meyen is a Teagasc forestry advisor based in Ballybofey; [email protected]
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