Thinning Hardwood

for Wildlife

This enlargement of a hardwood stand (refer to illustration on page 4) shows a sample layout of thinning ships, snag trees, food trees and unthinned cover blocks designed for wildlife improve- ment. As this is a hardwood stand, it is desirable to retain scattered, mature softwood for certain birds such as the Blackburnian Warbler. The softwood trees selected for retention should be healthy, long-lived species.

Stand Description:

Red maple, sugar maple, and yellow birch make up 75% of the trees. The trees are 12 meters (39 feet) tall and they are growing so closely together that they seriously compete with each other.

Assessing Tree Growth

By looking at the growth pattern on the ends of softwood (conifer) trees you can assess the health of the tree. The last year’s growth is normally the distance from the last bud (terminal) to the first side branch. If growth is only an inch or two, growth is very poor. Another method of assessing tree growth, for trees in leaf, is to compare the amount of height that is green with the total height. If this is over 30%, the'tree is usually doing well. if you’re observing trees without leaves, look for the presence of buds near

branch ends and the absence of branches without bark.

Poor Growth

SCALE APPROX 1:1”

I ‘0 ' -—-

Good Growth

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‘ 10 ' Available from the P.E.I. Department Agriculture and Forestry for $7.50