Forest Site Preparation Definition: Purposeful treatment of the site to prepare for the regeneration process Applicable to natural and artificial regeneration Site preparation practices include: Remove unwanted vegetation, slash and stumps from a site before/immediately following a regeneration method Any treatment modifies exiting vegetative or physical site conditions to improve germination, survival, and subsequent growth of desired seedlings

Silvicultural Objectives of Forest Site Preparation Control competing vegetation Most common Create a seedbed environment that favors target species Soil Scarification Loosening of the upper soil or breaking up the organic layer Removing undecomposed litter and humus to expose mineral soil Mixing surface organic materials with mineral layers beneath them Mechanically removing competing vegetation or interfering debris

Silvicultural Objectives of Forest Site Preparation Alter physical attributes of the rooting zone Reduce soil compaction Improve drainage Lower water table (ditches) Raise seedling rooting zone (bedding) Facilitate planting of seedlings Remove physical obstructions such as slash, standing trees, stumps (this is especially important for machine planting) Aesthetics

How site preparation fits into a silvicultural system

Site Preparation Objectives in the Central Hardwood Region Site preparation prior to final harvest Control competing vegetation Alter seedbed to promote establishment of advance tree reproduction Proactive removal of noncommercial trees that would inhibit seedling development following a harvest Post-harvest site preparation Remove trees remaining from previous stand that are inhibiting seedling development Alter seedbed to promote germination of light seeded species Prepare area for tree planting

Categories of Forest Site Preparation Mechanical Competition control Slash manipulation + competition control Seedbed manipulation Competition control + seedbed manipulation Alter physical attributes of the rooting zone Chemical Prescribed Fire a. Competition control + seedbed and slash manipulation

Mechanical Site Preparation

Mechanical Competition Control Manual Felling:

Mechanical Competition Control Manual Girdling:

Mechanical Competition Control Shearing: Cuts down standing vegetation using a large tractor with KG blade or V-blade

Mechanical Competition Control Shearing: Cuts down standing vegetation using a large tractor with KG blade or V-blade Benefits Can facilitate planting, but usually inadequate alone Provides some competition control, but is usually inadequate without follow-up treatment Due to resprouting hardwood species For planting, shearing is usually to facilitate further mechanical site prep, such as rake-and-pile or drum chopping Shearing is also used to complete silvicultural clearcutting in hardwoods

Mechanical Slash Manipulation and Competition Control Drum chopping: use a large cylindrical drum with sharp blade, pulled by a large tractor Breaks debris into smaller pieces, gets it closer to the ground (for more effective burning); Destroys some rootstocks (usually preceded by shearing)

Drum chopping Benefits: Provides some competition control, but it may be poor or inconsistent, due to problems with sprouting chopping is typically followed by burning, which increases effectiveness Provides some facilitation of planting, which may be greatly improved by burning Provides some improvement in soil conditions (increased infiltration of surface runoff, reducing erosion)

Mechanical Slash Manipulation and Competition Control Rake-and-pile (root-raking, windrowing: use a large tractor with a root-rake to move surface debris and stumps, and to rip out rootstocks It normally follows shearing Most commonly, debris is piled into windrows May burn these for more efficient space utilization Benefits Facilitates planting Fair to good competition control

Rake-and-pile (root-raking, windrowing) Potential problems: Erosion/sedimentation Movement of topsoil (often results in a reduction in site productivity) Countermeasures: Avoid rake-and-pile on steep slopes and highly erodible soils Put windrows on contour Do not remove litter layer unnecessarily Use only skilled and careful machine operators Do not use a straight blade for raking!

Mechanical Slash Manipulation and Competition Control Mastication: mechanical grinding of logging slash, whole trees, and brush Used commonly in fuels reduction treatments

Mechanical Seedbed Manipulation and Competition Control Disking: done with large heavy disks, pulled by a large tractor Knocks down small material, rips up smaller rootstocks Benefits: May provide good competition control Provides some facilitation of planting Can decrease compaction disking has a high potential for erosion when used in hilly terrain it should be on contour Provides a good seedbed for direct seeding or natural seeding (farm tractor)

Mechanical Alteration of Rooting Zone Bedding: combination of plowing and disking to create raised beds for planting seedlings Usually follows rake-and-pile Benefits Improves soil aeration, both by raising above a high water table and by breaking soil compaction Facilitates planting Gives additional competition control On uplands, positive benefits of bedding include: can reduce erosion losses and sedimentation (if beds are on contour), concentrate organic matter near seedlings reduce compaction of heavy soils. Allow beds to settle for six weeks before planting

Mechanical Alteration of Rooting Zone Subsoiling (ripping): utilizes a long (24-48 "), narrow, sharp plow for cutting through compact soil or a restrictive soil pan Usually follows other methods, or is used in old fields that have a plowpan Benefits Improves root development Facilitates planting Must be on contour to avoid erosion

Combination Treatments The Savannah “3-in-1 plow”- employs a specialized combination of ripping, plowing, and bedding, (often with shearing) in one pass

Chemical Site Preparation

Reasons for Using Chemical Site Preparation Kill dense or unwanted vegetation that: Interfere with survival and development of desired species Impede silvicutlural operations Kill or desiccate ground vegetation to improve fuel conditions for prescribed burning Prevent understory development Competition and/or fuel reduction reasons Inhibit seed germination of weed species

Advantages of Chemical Site Preparation Effectively kills a broad array of weeds and competing plants Can kill targeted species when applied with proper timing, dosage, and formulation Prevents sprouting from stumps and root systems Does not disturb surface or affect the inherent site productivity potential Works equally well in treating large or small areas in a number of ways and times of the year Proven cost-effective, particularly for broadcast and other mechanized applications over large areas

Chemical Site Preparation Herbicide Labels Labels are required legal documents: uses other than those listed are illegal All forestry herbicides must pass a rigorous approval process for EPA (sets standards for effectiveness and safety Important information that is listed on herbicide labels: Ingredients Precautionary statement uses a signal word (Caution, Warning, or Danger) only Velpar L and Garlon 3A have "Danger", due to potential eye damage May include a restricted use designation Information and directions for approved uses (including species "controlled") Instructions for storage and disposal

Herbicide Toxicity Toxicity: Those labeled for forestry uses are low in toxicity, are non-persistent, and do not bioaccumulate They are targeting plants, usually blocking or overstimulating plant enzymes None are toxic to birds or mammals at expected levels of exposure or ingestion LD50: dose (wt/body wt) fatal to 50% of test organisms. Lower # more toxic They are rapidly tied up or broken down in biological and soil systems

Herbicide Application Methods Broadcast Aerial Ground based machines Backpack sprayer Spot, strip, or “banded” Individual stem Cut surface application Bark application Chemicals used should be labeled for the application

Herbicide Tank Mixes Tank mixes: two or more herbicides are mixed together Wider spectrum of control Most commonly applied as broadcast foliar and/or soil-active Aerial most efficient (helicopter), but requires large tracts, or coordination of several smaller tracts tractors or skidders (with sprayers or spreaders), backpack sprayers, or hand carried spreaders are also used Do not plant tree seedlings for 3-6 months after most soil-active chemicals (esp. for Tordon, Velpar) Commonly followed by hot prescribed fire (“brown and burn”) {in order to facilitate planting} Tank mixes common with broader spectrum of control and quick brownup Arsenal/Accord, Tordon/Garlon