Not fire, but my Icelandic sheep are almost as good as goats and easier to keep within a 2-strand electric fence. Biggest problem is steep, rocky terrain. I have to fell a bunch of junk trees and drag them up a steep hill to remove them, and we're not motorized yet (no budget). But the sheep will strip the leaves and needles; those are like candy to them.
Ingham County, Michigan. Mature Beech-Sugar Maple forest.
That used to be called "Climax Forest", and not just because of the events recorded in the bark of the Beech trees.
The thinking was that the shade of the Sugar Maple and Beech was so total that the saplings of no other tree species could survive.
The concept of succession is more nuanced now. Different soil types, soil depth, min/max temps, rainfall, north/south/west sloping aspects and so on will lead to other "Climax Forest" communities.
A Beech-Sugar Maple forest is a joy to walk through in the autumn.
Those woods are wide open. Go over to my blog and see what we have to deal with.
ReplyDeleteWhat's your blog, mate? I'm struggling with how to convert my brush-choked mess of a second-growth New England woods into silvopasture.
DeletePawpaw blogs here: http://pawpawshouse.blogspot.com/
DeleteAre goats or fire an option?
Not fire, but my Icelandic sheep are almost as good as goats and easier to keep within a 2-strand electric fence. Biggest problem is steep, rocky terrain. I have to fell a bunch of junk trees and drag them up a steep hill to remove them, and we're not motorized yet (no budget). But the sheep will strip the leaves and needles; those are like candy to them.
DeleteConcur with Paw, that's DEFINITELY not Louisiana or SW Arkansas. Down there, you're lucky if you can see 30 feet!
ReplyDeleteIngham County, Michigan. Mature Beech-Sugar Maple forest.
DeleteThat used to be called "Climax Forest", and not just because of the events recorded in the bark of the Beech trees.
The thinking was that the shade of the Sugar Maple and Beech was so total that the saplings of no other tree species could survive.
The concept of succession is more nuanced now. Different soil types, soil depth, min/max temps, rainfall, north/south/west sloping aspects and so on will lead to other "Climax Forest" communities.
A Beech-Sugar Maple forest is a joy to walk through in the autumn.
That meets my definition of social distancing.
ReplyDelete