1. 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

2. 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

3. 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

4. How site preparation fits into a silvicultural system

5. 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

6. 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

7. Mechanical Site Preparation

8. Mechanical Competition Control
Manual Felling:

9. Mechanical Competition Control
Manual Girdling:

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

11. 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

12. 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)

14. 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)

15. 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

16. 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!

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

21. 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)

23. 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

26. 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

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

29. Chemical Site Preparation

30. 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

31. 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

32. 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

33. 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

36. 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

37. 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