Joe,
Well stated. As you know, I religiously followed the work of Karl Davies.
I believed he was making a significant contribution to our understanding of
real economic maturity. He also was adroitly raking over the coals the loose
methods that were being employed by forest planners in assessing annual growth
and its translation to value. He is sorely missed.
I am watching the pines of Mohawk pack on the wood, and in the case of a
number of them, modeling them for volume. I see no sign of any of the healthy
trees in the under 180 year age range shutting down. Certainly not all the big
trees are healthy and it is pretty easy for even a non-forester such as myself
to recognize early signs of decline. The point is that entire stands in Mohawk
are continuing to pack on the wood despite the decline of specific trees. Such
is the case of the Trout King, which is currently around 670 cubic feet of
trunk volume. Even if only 40% of the wood in this huge pine is usable for
lumber purposes, that is over 3,000 board feet.
The question now, I guess, is whether a mill would even take such a large
tree. I was told by the extension forester in NH, that mills up his way don't
take trees over a particular size anymore. If that is true throughout New
England, I would guess that the fate of bigger trees on commercial properties
is sealed. What are your thoughts on the subject?
Bob
-------------- Original message --------------
From: the Forestmeister <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>
> Bob, regarding the maturity of the pines- or any other species,
> foresters are taught to distinguish between biological maturity and
> financial maturity- then they pretend that they know what financial
> maturity is- then they conclude that relatively small trees are
> financially mature- when they are not- what they are is large enough
> to make a profit off of. As the late Karl Davies explained, financial
> maturity takes some serious thought to determine- but the conclusion
> for those who can think that hard- and want to- is that real financial
> maturity means much bigger trees than are usually cut. Many small
> trees are financially mature- but the best aren't until very large.
> You've mentioned a friend of yours who sold a very large black cherry
> for a very large price.
>
> Not only is it important to demonstrate that pine and other species
> can get very large and old- but I suggest that a proper economic study
> be done of these very large trees. They may not be growing at a fast
> speed, in terms of rate of growth of diameter, but if the trees are
> sound- they might actually be a great investment for any landowner to
> retain such huge trees, not just because they're "cute" or
> ecologically valuable, but also because they're a great economic
> investment- certainly better than what the American financial system
> is able to offer. Certainly many acres need to be preserved but there
> is no reason why many more acres which are not preserved shouldn't
> have many large trees and for very good reasons- financial, carbon
> sequestration, because they are cute, and because we just really like
> them- something about the built in affinity for healthy human beings
> for truly healthy forests.
>
> I rest my case.
>
> Der Forestmeister
>
> On Sep 21, 10:31 pm, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> > ENTS,
> >
> > Today I returned to MTSF with the intention of continuing to update my
> white pine measurements for that unique Massachusetts state forest. I
> concentrated on the Trout Brook region of Mohawk, which has a scattering of
> pines, most of which are relatively youngn and growing fast. I'm pleased as
> punch to announce that 4 more pines have entered the 10-foot circumference,
> 140-foot height class. In addition, one very large pine, the Trout King Pine
> has
> made it to 12.0 feet in circumference and is now 148.8 feet in height. It
> will
> make it to the 12 x 150 club in one or two more years. It is a single-stemmed
> tree - not cheater. A second tree has made it into the 11.0-foot
> circumference,
> 140-foot height class. The last time I measured the tree, it was under 11
> feet
> in girth and 140 feet in height. Its exact dimensions are: Girth = 11.1 feet,
> Height = 140.2 feet.
> > The Trout Brook watershed now has two single-stemmed pines in the 12-foot
> girth, 140-foot height class. I am fairly sure that the Trout King's volume
> approaches 700 cubic feet. At present, I think it is around 670 cubes. It is
> packing on the wood and will certainly exceed 700 cubes within 10 years.
> > In Trout Brook, there are two 150-footers, or at least was the last time I
> measured them. On my next visit, I'll confirm them. I don't think Trout Brook
> has any other candidates for the 150-foot club for the present.
> > The amount of labor to update the MTSF white pine inventory is daunting.
> I am alternately opmistic and pessimistic. I basically am doing the update
> solo,
> but for the most part, it remains a labor of love. Hopefully, I won't run out
> of
> measuring gas.
> > My fascination with big trees not withstanding, I do think updating the
> big pines list is an important job to complete. For one thing, the list
> points
> to what kind of performance we can expect out of a white pine forests on good
> sites that are left to grow for different lengths of time. In Mohawk, we
> presently can examine stands that are about 60 years old and compare them to
> adjacent stands that are around 100 years old. We can carry the comparison
> process further by examine stands between 130 and 150 years old, and finally,
> examine a stand with trees around 170 to 190 years. The self-thinning process
> can be observed as it has progressed over decades.
> > The huge sizes of the pines in the Elders Grove speak eloquently to the
> capabilities of the great whites to pack on wood for over 200 years. Of
> course,
> forest managers will not likely manage for such ages, but what modern day
> lumberman pass off as maturity in white pines is not maturity - not even
> close.
> An entire generation of lumberman may have lost sight of the full
> capabilities
> of the species. Oldtimers may understand, but their time has passed. Mohawk
> Trail State Forest has the power to educate.
> >
> > Bob
> >
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
Eastern Native Tree Society http://www.nativetreesociety.org
You are subscribed to the Google Groups "ENTSTrees" group.
To post to this group, send email to [email protected]
To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/entstrees?hl=en
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
