Improving Overall Health of Wooded Acreage

[Myra]

Hello! My husband and I would like to improve the overall health of several wooded acres on our property. Based on what I have read, I should be able to do some selective cutting to give the healthier trees a chance to flesh out. At this point all the trees are tall and spindly and we get a lot of downed trees in bad weather. There are quite a few that are already dead and will probably fall in the next few years.

My concern is this: are the trees too "old" to benefit from this at this point? They are disproportionately tall and skinny so I'm wondering if it's too little too late. In high wind they blow around like blades of grass. (Photo attached). Any advise is appreciated. Thank you for your time!

Not sure if this info matters but:
--The woods are on a very steep incline. We live at the top of a narrow ridge in central KY. It's very soggy at the bottom.
--My husband was working in the woods one day using a heavy steel bar to break up some dirt to remove rocks. Without warning, the 6' rod hit a sinkhole and would've went straight through the ground... the knob on top was slightly bigger than the hole so it stopped. A stale gassy smell came out of the hole and within 2 minutes a medium sized dead tree about 30 feet away fell down. The Karst potential map says we are in a low karst/non karst area, but that was spooky enough for us to proceed with caution.

 

[old CB]

From the photo, your woodland will definitely benefit from thinning. No, it's not too late. Search out info on how to properly go about it--your county extension office is probably a good place to start.

It'll be a gradual process, but a rewarding one.

Don't know anything about the Karst business, but someone nearby will.

One thing to consider, when you mention the dead trees, is to leave a few standing for wildlife habitat. People often want to remove all dead trees--but unless they're threatening something vital, it's good to leave a few for habitat.

 

[Myra]

From the photo, your woodland will definitely benefit from thinning. No, it's not too late. Search out info on how to properly go about it--your county extension office is probably a good place to start.

It'll be a gradual process, but a rewarding one.

Don't know anything about the Karst business, but someone nearby will.

One thing to consider, when you mention the dead trees, is to leave a few standing for wildlife habitat. People often want to remove all dead trees--but unless they're threatening something vital, it's good to leave a few for habitat.

Noted about the dead trees...I had not considered that. Extension office is a great idea too--I'll definitely be barking up their tree too! (lol no pun intended) Thanks, CB!

 

[BC WetCoast]

Trees are tall and spindly because they are all competing for the light. They whip around in the wind because that is the tree's strategy to deal with the energy exerted by the wind on the trees. If they didn't whip around, they would all break because the stems wouldn't be strong enough to stand up to the energy. All trees, except the really short fat ones do this.

It sounds like your stand is beginning to thin itself out, what you are looking to do is speed up the natural process. There are different strategies to achieve this, depending on your "Desired future condition". In other words, what you want the woodlot to provide for you over time and what do you want it to look like in the long term.

Some strategies would include: thinning from below - taking out the smaller/weaker stems to give more room to the bigger stems. The small stems could be used for firewood/pulp or left to rot.
Thinning from above - taking out larger stems to give opportunity for the understory to release. The removed stems could be used for lumber.
Grid thinning - establish a grid and retain whatever tree lands on that grid.

Many PhD theses have been written on the pros and cons of each strategy. Tons of research available.

 

[Myra]

Trees are tall and spindly because they are all competing for the light. They whip around in the wind because that is the tree's strategy to deal with the energy exerted by the wind on the trees. If they didn't whip around, they would all break because the stems wouldn't be strong enough to stand up to the energy. All trees, except the really short fat ones do this.

It sounds like your stand is beginning to thin itself out, what you are looking to do is speed up the natural process. There are different strategies to achieve this, depending on your "Desired future condition". In other words, what you want the woodlot to provide for you over time and what do you want it to look like in the long term.

Some strategies would include: thinning from below - taking out the smaller/weaker stems to give more room to the bigger stems. The small stems could be used for firewood/pulp or left to rot.
Thinning from above - taking out larger stems to give opportunity for the understory to release. The removed stems could be used for lumber.
Grid thinning - establish a grid and retain whatever tree lands on that grid.

Many PhD theses have been written on the pros and cons of each strategy. Tons of research available.

Thank you! Do you happen to know any authors/books/papers right off hand that I could look into to learn more about the process? Everything I've found online seems to be geared toward people trying to sell the lumber. We aren't interested in that--really just want it to be healthy and well managed. We plan on using some of the wood to make fences. Ginseng and morel mushrooms grow on the property and I have been considering trying to designate some areas for trying to cultivate more. The frequency in which the trees come down though makes me worry about having a large crop of ginseng. If the right tree fell, the plants would be scorched.

 

[BC WetCoast]

Probably be better if you talk to someone at Univ of Kentucky Dept of Forestry. They will have access to data relevant to your area.
They also have an extension service that may have material pertinent to you.

 

[ATH]

Probably be better if you talk to someone at Univ of Kentucky Dept of Forestry. They will have access to data relevant to your area.
They also have an extension service that may have material pertinent to you.

Yes. The Division of Forestry has Service Foresters. Call them.

 

[Myra]

Yes. The Division of Forestry has Service Foresters. Call them.

Yes! And they even have a magazine...I think this is exactly where I need to be, thanks!
And I emailed the extension office after CB mentioned it over the weekend...they emailed me back this morning and said they were in contact with someone at the Dept. of Forestry that would be touching base with me shortly and would follow up in a week or two to make sure my questions were answered. Thank you all for your help!

 

[ropensaddle]

Yes! And they even have a magazine...I think this is exactly where I need to be, thanks!
And I emailed the extension office after CB mentioned it over the weekend...they emailed me back this morning and said they were in contact with someone at the Dept. of Forestry that would be touching base with me shortly and would follow up in a week or two to make sure my questions were answered. Thank you all for your help!

They may and may not tell you that the litter layer should not be cleaned up. I mean leaves and twigs etc limbs and logs can be picked up but beware of using equipment.