Good forest management involving proper timber harvest and TSI not only benefits you, but also benefits the wildlife that use your forest. Let me briefly highlight for you a few of those benefits, and share a new study from the MSU Deer Lab that supports our observations:
- Increases health and productivity. Forests that are thinned so that the best trees are maximizing the available growing space are healthier and grow to their full potential. Watch this short video from a previous post and see it in action as I explain the process!
- Increases advance regeneration. TSI removes or sets back undesirable trees in the forest to make room for oak seedlings to sprout and gather enough sunlight to stay alive. This banking of an adequate amount of advance regeneration is important for when a tree blows down or needs to be harvested, the growing space will be occupied by a desirable oak tree. (See a previous post for further explanation)
- Increases browse for deer and cover for wildlife. Most trees that are cut during a TSI operation will re-sprout with a flush of new tender shoots that are desirable browse for deer. The downed trees provide immediate cover for wildlife, and the new found sunlight on the forest floor initiates growth of desirable herbaceous plants. (see a good example here!)
September White Oak acorns are an important wildlife food. - Increases mast (acorn) production. Proper thinning of forests increases health and growth of crop trees. If a healthy oak tree has a opportunity to expand its crown it will grow more terminal buds . Consequently, the flowers that grow the acorns start from these buds, and the leaves and the twigs that support them come from these buds. The more buds the more acorns, and the more buds the more leaves, and the more leaves the more growth (see #1).
A new study from the Mississippi State University Deer Lab puts some actual numbers to our observations showing that crown release thinning of white oak trees increased acorn production between 47% and 65%. That is a significant increase! An increase like that will certainly be noticed by deer and turkey in your neck of the woods after proper thinning is done.