Loss of our Native Hardwoods

[Bright Raven]

The woods in Kentucky are a relic of what they were when I was raised on the family farm.

Gone:
White Oak
White Ash
American Elm
Beech

The rest of the trees in our woods are unhealthy. Every Boxelder is rotted out. The wild cherry, Yellow Poplar, even the Hackberry are funky. If you can find a cottonwood, they are ancient and ready to depart. The biggest tree on my farm and our family farm are huge old cottonwood. The limbs are mostly gone. Only life left is a few branches on the trunk.

I suppose it is a whole host of factors.

 

[Caustic Burno]

Again nothing new we have done this to ourselves.
We imported the Chestnut blight and fired the starter pistol.
Out forestry management or lack of it destroyed 4 million acres of subtropical rain forest here.

 

[M.Magis]

What happened to the white oak and beech? They dominate the woods here in Ohio, or at least my part of Ohio.

 

[Bright Raven]

What happened to the white oak and beech? They dominate the woods here in Ohio, or at least my part of Ohio.

I am surprised. You are not that far from here. The White Oaks started going out 15 years ago. I think it was either a borer or blight. Beech have been dying off since I was a kid. There is only one left on this farm and I like to visit that spot. There are none over on the family farm.

 

[ddd75]

whites oaks were healthy and growing great on my lewis farm.. same for beeches..


have beeches growing here.. ash is the only thing dead. have some really old big cottonwoods as well.. only a few red oaks here.. maple is probably the most dominate tree around here i'd say.

i was lucky i have a few nice locust groves

 

[Bright Raven]

whites oaks were healthy and growing great on my lewis farm.. same for beeches..


have beeches growing here.. ash is the only thing dead. have some really old big cottonwoods as well.. only a few red oaks here.. maple is probably the most dominate tree around here i'd say.

i was lucky i have a few nice locust groves

As you go east particularly up around Morehead, the beech are healthy. I am not sure what is the factor eliminating the bench in north central Kentucky.

I have locust but again. They don't seem healthy.

 

[Stocker Steve]

Not sure about the beetles and the blight, but out wintering and higher stocking density are problems for some types of trees...

 

[sim.-ang.king]

You wanna come get some of these swamp, and shingle oaks? We're over run with them, and they look nice on the outside. :lol:
I'm gearing up to go knock down about 20-30 white oaks this winter. Other loggers around will probably knock down another couple thousand, along with any walnut, ash, cherry, and red oak.

 

[Bright Raven]

You wanna come get some of these swamp, and shingle oaks? We're over run with them, and they look nice on the outside. :lol:
I'm gearing up to go knock down about 20-30 white oaks this winter. Other loggers around will probably knock down another couple thousand, along with any walnut, ash, cherry, and red oak.

I have a friend in mid-central Indiana. He has a sawmill. He brings in logs from Indiana and Illinois. Your woods are much healthier than here. I have assumed as you go south from your latitude the fungal and insects infestations are worse.

 

[Lucky_P]

Cows are notoriously poor forest managers.
Hoof compaction, browsing/rubbing seedlings. etc., causes more damage and economic loss than the forage provided by running cows 'in the woods'; stats I've seen put forward say it takes about 40 acres of typical Southeastern forest to support 1 cow-calf pair.
Our cattle are fenced off from the 85 acres of hardwood forest, except for a 40-ft shade strip we allowed them when we fenced this place.
Oaks, hickories are fine. too many maples to suit me. EAB not here yet, but its just a matter of time, and the ash will be gone

 

[Ebenezer]

Trees age out, too. Clearcut and let them start new. Not the acceptable answer but it works. In 100+/- years, you'll be glad that you did.

 

[Bright Raven]

Trees age out, too. Clearcut and let them start new. Not the acceptable answer but it works. In 100+/- years, you'll be glad that you did.

:lol: I doubt that. But somebody might.

 

[ddd75]

Cows are notoriously poor forest managers.
Hoof compaction, browsing/rubbing seedlings. etc., causes more damage and economic loss than the forage provided by running cows 'in the woods'; stats I've seen put forward say it takes about 40 acres of typical Southeastern forest to support 1 cow-calf pair.
Our cattle are fenced off from the 85 acres of hardwood forest, except for a 40-ft shade strip we allowed them when we fenced this place.
Oaks, hickories are fine. too many maples to suit me. EAB not here yet, but its just a matter of time, and the ash will be gone

depending on the time of the year and conditions.. cattle can really benefit a woods.

 

[hurleyjd]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deforesta ... ted_States

 

[sim.-ang.king]

Calling it deforestation based amount of virgin forest compared to total woodlands, is like saying since there isn't any Aztec maize, harvesting field corn is hurting corn population.

 

[greybeard]

Again nothing new we have done this to ourselves.
We imported the Chestnut blight and fired the starter pistol.
Out forestry management or lack of it destroyed 4 million acres of subtropical rain forest here.

Yeah, but I hear it looks so good when the city people drive by on the highway and them red cocked woodpeckers gotta have somewhere to nest...........

 

[ddd75]

we have 2/3rds the amount of trees we had in 1600 (usa)

 

[Turkeybird]

Trees age out, too. Clearcut and let them start new. Not the acceptable answer but it works. In 100+/- years, you'll be glad that you did.

:lol: I doubt that. But somebody might.

Trees need culling just as cows do

 

[snoopdog]

The borers are killing our red oaks

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

The Ash are dying all over Kentucky.