when harvesting trees course hero

Why do we harvest trees?

If trees get infected with insects or diseases, harvesting them is the best way to prevent the illness from spreading and to protect the healthy trees that remain. Landowners must make many choices about their forestland and how they want to improve it for the future.

What are the advantages of harvesting?

Harvesting can lessen competition for soil nutrients and sunlight. Trees grow bigger and more rapidly when other trees do not crowd them. Given enough space, a tree can increase its crown, or treetop, size. Large crowns allow trees to capture more sunlight and, through photosynthesis, produce more sugars to grow faster.

What is sustainable timber harvesting and why is it important?

Sustainable timber harvesting methods contribute not only to tree regeneration but also to the long-term health of the forest. They involve keeping the best trees until young and healthy plants grow or destroying all vegetation to eliminate competition for new shoots.

What is the best timber harvesting method?

To harvest timber this way, the most suitable are plants with high growth rates, sowing capacity, and wind resistance. This timber harvesting method is small-scale clear-cutting when a stand is cut down over 40-50 years by groups of trees.

What can be used to create young forest for wildlife?

Different timber-harvesting techniques can be used to create young forest for wildlife.

Why are different age classes of woodland important?

Making different age classes of woodland helps wildlife by creating a richer and more-diverse habitat that benefits a broad range of creatures and not just a select few. Forests are also better able to resist disease, insect outbreaks, and other stresses if they have trees of varying species and ages.

Reasons For Timber Harvesting

Forestry requires the right approach to the care and restoration of trees. In particular, excessive methods of harvesting timber can lead to catastrophic consequences for agriculture and the environment. At the same time, if the state of the forest is not controlled, the effects can also be highly damaging.

Timber Harvesting Methods: Choose The Best To Meet Your Purpose

Different methods of timber harvesting depend on the tasks. Here are the main ones.

Process Of Timber Harvesting

Regardless of chosen ways to harvest timber, there are usually three stages: preparation, operations, and post-harvesting. Let’s consider each of them.

Sustainable Timber Harvesting: A Long Term Perspective

Sustainable timber harvesting methods contribute not only to tree regeneration but also to the long-term health of the forest. They involve keeping the best trees until young and healthy plants grow or destroying all vegetation to eliminate competition for new shoots.

How EOS Forest Monitoring Can Assist Timber Harvesting

Forest state analysis, determining a timber harvesting plan, requires significant efforts from the forest- and landowners and the companies engaged in its felling. The EOS Forest Monitoring software allows you to optimize forestry operations and reduce economic and environmental risks.

Why Do We Harvest Trees?

Landowners may harvest trees from their forest for many reasons. They may want to make a better place for wildlife. They may want more light on the forest floor. They may want to give trees more room to grow. They may need money. These different objectives require landowners to think about many things before they decide to cut trees.

Why is it important to harvest trees?

Harvesting also promotes the forest's good health. Trees can get sick. If trees get infected with insects or diseases, harvest ing them is the best way to prevent the illness from spreading and to protect the healthy trees that remain.

How can a forester help landowners?

Landowners must make many choices about their forestland and how they want to improve it for the future. A forester can help landowners make decisions . Foresters measure trees for volume, quality, and growth rate. They write forest management plans. Foresters must make careful observations of not only the trees, but also the soils, wildlife habitat, streams, and other important features in the area.

Why is harvesting important?

Harvesting can lessen competition for soil nutrients and sunlight. Trees grow bigger and more rapidly when other trees do not crowd them. Given enough space, a tree can increase its crown, or treetop, size. Large crowns allow trees to capture more sunlight and, through photosynthesis, produce more sugars to grow faster. Nature thins out a forest on its own. Good harvesting mimics nature, but speeds the process.

What is a well planned harvest?

A well-planned harvest focuses on the trees that are to remain rather than on the trees that are to be cut. These "residual" trees and seedlings will provide the forest benefits that future generations will enjoy, so it is important to choose them with care. The "residual" forest at a recently harvested site.

Why do trees have slash?

Most of the time the branches are left in the woods. These branches, or "slash," may protect new tree seedlings from deer that are browsing for food. As slash breaks down through decay over a few years , nutrients return to the soil.

What is the name of the place where trees are pulled?

The trees are then pulled, or "skidded," through the harvest area to an open place called the "landing." Depending on tree size and site conditions, rubber-tired skidders, bulldozers, tractors, horses, or sometimes even helicopters (in very remote or special areas) are used to move trees. Matching the right equipment to the forest's conditions is an important part of good harvesting. At the landing, trees are "bucked" or cut into smaller sections called logs.

Forest Harvesting Systems

There are a number of forest harvesting systems (also called silvicultural systems) in practice in the state and the four most common are the clearcut, seed-tree, shelterwood, and selection harvest.

Hear from a Woodland Owner

Hockermans discussing previous owners management Zdanovecs discussing silviculture and ruffed grouse Thompsons discussing regeneration techniques for pine

How long does it take for a sage tree to ripen?

They will still be firm when you pick them, but summer varieties will ripen after seven to 10 days at room temperature. They don’t need cold storage ahead of ripening – but winter varieties do.

When is the best time to eat preserves?

Throughout the fall and winter, each luscious fresh bite, jar of preserves, or pie will reward the efforts made in the harvest window.

Do fruit come off of a tree?

Most importantly, the mature fruit will come off of the branches readily.

Why Do We Harvest Trees?

See more on extension.psu.edu

Professional Assistance

The Harvesting Process