Tree Farmer - July/August 2010 - (Page 8)

Money Does Grow on Trees! As Tree Farmers, we want to grow a large, tall, high-quality tree with a clean stem and well-developed crown while enhancing wildlife habitat and aesthetics. Growing trees is like growing plants in your garden. Use rich soil, prepare a good seed bed, plant the best seedlings, control undesirable competition, and provide nutrients and abundant growing space for a bountiful harvest. In the South, pine trees are natural tree killers, fighting for nutrients and water. Neglected and unmanaged stands will be thinned by Mother Nature, leaving wood value on the forest floor. Quality and tree size determine harvest values and can be improved with good forest management. Forest management gives the landowner the opportunity to grow revenues with periodic thinning, increasing tree size and wood quality for higher rotation values. One acre will grow approximately the same volume of wood, regardless of the configuration: 1,000 tiny trees, 400 small trees, 200 medium trees, or 100 large, straight trees. Since the same land area will produce the same amount of wood per year, would you rather receive $1,000 per acre revenue from a 35-year-old neglected stand or $5,000 per acre from a 28-year-old intensively managed stand? The following data from actual pine stands illustrate the dramatic difference we can make with good forest management. Neglected Stand Age 35; no thinning 887 trees planted per acre (7×7-foot spacing) 190 trees per acre, residual stand 10-inch dbh No timber stand improvement Intensively Managed Stand Age 28, two thinnings (at ages 18 and 25) 554 trees planted per acre (8×10-foot spacing) 62 trees per acre, residual stand 15.5-inch dbh Fertilization and hardwood control TOTAL ROTATION VOLUMES, THINNING & RESIDUAL STAND VALUES FOR LIFE OF STAND Neglected Stand Volume 25% pulpwood/25 tons 74% chip-and-saw/74 tons Intensively Managed Stand 28% pulpwood/46 tons 10% chip and saw/16 tons 49% sawtimber/79 tons 13% poles/20 tons Neglected Stand Amt. Harvested 99 tons Total Revenue $1,030 per acre Revenue (per Acre) $148 $882 $290 $511 $3,365 $2,113 Produce Value as % of Total Revenue 14% 86% 8% 9% 64% 19% Intensively Managed Stand Amt. Harvested 161 tons 5.75 tons $193 per acre Total Revenue $5,391 per acre Annual Growth per Acre 2.8 tons Annual Growth Value $29 per acre Our South Carolina Piedmont soils have a 25-year site index of 65, producing approximately 6 tons of wood per year per acre under intense forest management. Multiple select improvement thinnings, marking all trees to be removed, increases residual stand quality. Good genetics, fertilization, hardwood control, and good soils contribute to producing 210 tons or more during a 35-year rotation. High-value sawtimber and poles are our final products, producing more than 75 percent of total rotation revenues. continued on page 27 8 Tree Farmer JULY/AUGUST 2010

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Tree Farmer - July/August 2010

Tree Farmer - July/August 2010
Table of Contents
Cover Story
Money Does Grow on Trees
Research Roundup
2009 Northeast Regional Tree Farm of the Year
Wildlife Matters
Ties to the Land

Tree Farmer - July/August 2010