Interesting study on the beech

[Granite Statah]

I stumbled on this last week and thought some folks might find it interesting:

https://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/wilderness-resources/blogs/beech-trees-taking-over-forests

I live right in the middle of NH and although I've seen beech bark disease on the rise, I can't say that it looks like they're "taking over". I have 6 acres and my folks still have 50 acres that are still nicely mixed, although I'm just comparing from what I remember as a kid (40+ years ago) and what I see now when I hike/bike it.

 

[peakbagger]

Feel free to come visit my woodlot up in Randolph NH . The issue I am aware of is that the beech regenerate aggressively after events where the canopy is opened up quickly. My property before I bought it was predominantly mature sugar maple with occasional large mast beeches and white birches present in a minority before the Ice Storm of 1998. A mast beech is very large diameter beech that has good nut growth, bears and other wildlife depend on it as its the only nut tree north of where the oaks wont grow. Most of the mature trees lost their crowns during the ice storm so the understory was wide open to the sun. Beeches have very well established root systems and they will sprout new trees off the roots aggressively. Maples take a lot longer to re-establish as they grow by seed and the beeches crowd them out so they don't recover. Unfortunately these beech sprouts tend to grow dense and then the blight moves in. Many of the large mast beeches that survived the ice storm still look fairly blight free but the new growth blights quick and rarely get more than 8" before they are covered with cankers. My forester recommended aggressive timberstand improvement which is cut or girdle every regenerating beech within 50 feet of a desirable species like maple and keep doing it until the maples become dominant. One of my worse areas is pretty well inaccessible with normal equipment so managing it that way is going to mean a lot of dead beech rotting on the stump and eventually on the ground. I have a seven acre plot that is probably going to get managed that way.

Beech is a nice wood for woodworking, a good tight grain but not much grain. It was used for drawer slides for wood furniture. The blighted beech is okay for firewood if its kept under cover as the cankers hold water and cause it to rot quick. Between this and the Emerald Ash borer creeping north up through southern NH, the woods are taking it hard.

 

[jackatc1]

I would be happy to burn Beech exclusively, high BTU's,clean bark.
But as peekbagger said, it takes over the forest floor very aggressively.
Any time I cut one, I apply Glyphosate to the stump.
I carry an old mustard squeeze bottle with 40% Glyphosate to apply it.

(broken link removed)

 

[lost in the woods]

just read the article, interesting but not ready to agree yet. what are the local silvicultural practices in the area the author was studying??? are the local loggers and timber buyers harvesting more of the hard maple and birch and cutting around the beech because it's a lower value tree? also what about deer browsing, and acid rain?

we have a "problem" with oak regeneration here in PA.( depends on who you talk to) some say its the deer, some say its bad forest management some say acid rain. could be a mix of all the above. . . I think to just blame one thing for the 'ruination' of a complex forest/ecosystem is a hasty move

 

[Toomb]

I am not trying to start a pissing war over climate, but the endless hysteria in the media is nauseating. I have read several articles lately regarding man made climate change, the expansion of the beech trees, and how devastating it is going to be for the American economy. What should the composition of our forests be? What is right and what is wrong? Our forests today are not what they were 400 years ago....or 15,000 years ago.

http://www.businessinsider.com/northeastern-us-forest-transformation-2013-9

Before eurpoean colinization, the eastern us was composed of %22 beech........today %7. Maple trees trippled their numbers after colinization. Is todays comopsition the "right mix" ? I am not attacking anyone here.....just venting. The implication that everything that happens in the world can trace its roots to climate change is exhausting.

 

[firefighterjake]

A high school buddy of mine has a sugar bush operation and has allowed me in the past to cull the beech around the maples . . . partly due to the nature of the beech and competition they give to the sugar maples. I figure it's a win for me and him.

 

[Knots]

Thanks for posting that. My lot was selectively logged in 2010 and you can see the aggressive beech regeneration.

I like beech for firewood and the nuts provide for some animals. I find that beech will dry in relatively large rounds too, so that saves me a little time. I'm not trying to eliminate it from my property, but I am actively managing it so it doesn't take over.

I'm not touching the climate change thing. I'll say this - 18,000 years ago there was 5,000 feet of ice where I'm sitting. What came back after the glacier receded probably isn't a copy of what was there before.

The article says:

American beech is a natural part of these forests, not an invasive species, and it does have key roles to play in its native habitats.

The book show below, which I recommend to anyone living in central New England, notes that beech is actually a tropical species that moved north primarily due to the fact that it's bark doesn't split in the winter temperature fluctuations (apparently a below freezing day with strong sunlight hitting a tree trunk can stress the bark to splitting and prevents many species from living here).

So, I suppose it's natural since it marched its way north and stayed, but since I can influence the species on my lot it's one of my first choices for firewood or sapling cutting to make way for others.

A Maine State Forestry guy walked my lot with me once. I seem to remember him saying that if you cut the beech "groves" off waist high, it is better to prevent then sprouting up more than cutting them near the ground. I'll have to revisit that.

There's definitely bark disease here, but they seem to get fairly large even with it.

 

[peakbagger]

I have heard the concept of girdling beech as opposed to cutting it prevent its reemergence. The stumps do aggressively sprout when cut although most of the aggressive beech reemergence seems to be from the roots of the older trees. I asked the forester who did my management plan and a couple of others and they were practical about it. Its a lot easier to brush saw a small sapling then it is to girdle it. If the saplings are dropped on the forest floor, the next winters snow and subsequently spring will make the remains disappear in a few seasons. Girdled beeches in the other hand hang around for long time. I have some older timberstand improvement patches from over 10 years ago (possibly 20) and many of the dead girdled beeches are still standing. The canopy has filled in above them but its "not pretty" to someone who doesn't understand the intent. I have a hiking trail through one corner of my property in a community htat has fair share of "tree huggers" so I need to keep esthetics in mind

I try not to use chemicals to control growth unless its the last resort. I have heard dabbing the cut with glycophosphate really helps in knocking back the regeneration. There is private spring serving a couple of homes down hill from the test stand of beech I am considering doing aggressive management. I realize it breaks down fairly rapidly but out of general respect to the neighbors , I want to avoid it if at all possible even though I am in my rights to use it.