Clear cutting half arsed, why?

[jyoutz]

That makes sense. Someone comes in, offers you the best bang for the buck on the money you can make on the trees taken down and you run with it.

Although I can be lazy at times, if you're prepared to do something, do it right the first time is something I've always held myself to.

That said, since I have no clue what I'm talking about, perhaps in 15 years after a clear cut, everything will look "fine".

I honestly don't know.

Post clear cutting response is highly variable by forest type. Some types will regenerate with desirable species by root or stump sprouting, while other types must regenerate from seed and must be planted.

 

[jyoutz]

In my "neck of the woods", NE Mississippi, natural

Depending on what species you want to regenerate.

 

[Jstpssng]

If cut timber doesn't bring in much money, not certain why you'd clear it to begin with.

If it isn't worth anything now chances are it won't be worth anything later. Why would you want it taking up space which could be growing trees of value? Again, you don't know what the landowners objectives are. If it's owned by a person or corporation which holds it for the timber growing value they have achieved their objective.
What I see is a bunch of limbs and low quality wood which likely was trimmed off to create higher quality logs. It also looks like it was bulldozed to create that pile, rather than leave it scattered around the landing. I would guess it's been there a couple of years
At any rate the pile will be a lot smaller in 5 years.

 

[newbury]

Depending on what species you want to regenerate.

Sorry, thought I deleted that post.
But what I was going to say was that I've several "plots" (20 to 40 acre parcels) that were logged the same year and season. But due to rains did not get planted by the crews. But they were fairly well surrounded by other pine and regrew naturally and (except for the obvious row structure) are almost identical in growth. Now this wasn't hybrid superpine that almost grows as fast as bamboo.
The plots quickly established a low thick cover of pine which shaded out weeds and hardwoods.

 

[ruffdog]

The cost of making it look pretty is not cheap. A few days with a HydroAx and mulch head would make a huge difference. With canopy gone, I'm sure a huge amount of seedlings will sprout not that the sun is getting to them.

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

Here's the "view" from our front porch! Second picture is a close-up.
Our friends & neighbors spend lots of time on their back porch and their "view" of my mess!...but we're in the country & wouldn't trade it for anything.

 

[Hay Dude]

Here's the "view" from our front porch! Second picture is a close-up.
Our friends & neighbors spend lots of time on their back porch and their "view" of my mess!...but we're in the country & wouldn't trade it for anything. View attachment 848461View attachment 848462View attachment 848463

Oh heck that ain’t no mess. That’s just a typical pile of slash you see on every farm in the USA. That looks fine to me. Makes me feel right at home.

 

[Jstpssng]

Oh heck that ain’t no mess. That’s just a typical pile of slash you see on every farm in the USA. That looks fine to me. Makes me feel right at home.

That's why the old family farms were such a great place to hunt; those piles were great places for rabbits, pheasants, and other small game to hide.

The NRCS pays people to put brush piles on their land just like that, to enhance habitat.

 

[paulsharvey]

So, I'll argue it, just to argue Why spend money having it hauled, burnt, raked, ect, when you can set nature rot it away over a couple years, especially if the land isn't in active use. You'll keep the nutrients from the biomass, have better hunting as the new stuff comes up, And you keep the foresty money.

 

[paulsharvey]

I can't really tell, but Pic#1, vs Pic#2. Is Pic#2 meant as what you wished they did, or is Pic#2 another example of a 'mess'? Pic#2, I'm placing a tree stand in my mind, where you have cover, woody plant matter, and green grass meeting at 3 points... I'd add a water source too, and happily harvest deer, turkey, and small game.

 

[ZTMAN]

We bought a camp in 1997. 127 acres 40 of which were clear cut 6 months before purchase.
The land looked pretty much like the OPs photo.

The tree top pile rotted down over the years and was gone in about 15 years.

During the first two years, briars were so thick you could barely walk through them with hunting pants, but the deer loved it.

Eventually, the saplings took over and now there is a mix of various hardwoods about 25 foot tall. It was pretty interesting to watch this area evolve over the last 26 years.

Watched an old video of the land when the kids were home for Christmas. Wish I saved a pic to post.

We just had some of the land select cut this year for timber and deer management and that worked out great.

Bought a set of log grapples for the Kubota and having been cutting up the larger portions of the tree tops for firewood.

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

I have some depressions also that over the years I fill in. Here's a big 5ft at base I cut up, I see now where I need to move it around a bit sideways.

 

[jyoutz]

Sorry, thought I deleted that post.
But what I was going to say was that I've several "plots" (20 to 40 acre parcels) that were logged the same year and season. But due to rains did not get planted by the crews. But they were fairly well surrounded by other pine and regrew naturally and (except for the obvious row structure) are almost identical in growth. Now this wasn't hybrid superpine that almost grows as fast as bamboo.
The plots quickly established a low thick cover of pine which shaded out weeds and hardwoods.

Pine does regenerate well naturally when seed trees are adjacent enough to provide seed. And there is enough bare soil to establish seedlings.

 

[CADplans]

A lot depends on the "intent" of the land,

I wanted reforest,, my state guy convinced me the sprouts from stumps would be the fastest growing trees,,
He was right,, I clear-cut 30 acres in 2018,, stumps are producing beautiful trees.

I asked about planting,, the state guy said that was throwing away $$$$$,,
natural regrowth would overpower anything planted,, due to soil pH, and other soil conditions.
Again, I think he was right..

As far as the pile, like you show,,
I have one pile, easily twice as big as a 2,000 sq ft ranch house. The pile is over 12 feet tall.
My logger asked if I wanted it spread, I said no,,

The wood is decaying nicely, some day it will be material that will enhance a garden.

Just my opinions,, Everyone has one,, this is just mine,,
Oh, yea, I also had them leave the corduroy road,, and a couple hundred yards of gravel road.

The logger wanted to bury it all for me,, I enjoy both roads.

 

[Jstpssng]

A lot depends on the "intent" of the land,

I wanted reforest,, my state guy convinced me the sprouts from stumps would be the fastest growing trees,,
He was right,, I clear-cut 30 acres in 2018,, stumps are producing beautiful trees.

I asked about planting,, the state guy said that was throwing away $$$$$,,
natural regrowth would overpower anything planted,, due to soil pH, and other soil conditions.
Again, I think he was right..

As far as the pile, like you show,,
I have one pile, easily twice as big as a 2,000 sq ft ranch house. The pile is over 12 feet tall.
My logger asked if I wanted it spread, I said no,,

The wood is decaying nicely, some day it will be material that will enhance a garden.

Just my opinions,, Everyone has one,, this is just mine,,
Oh, yea, I also had them leave the corduroy road,, and a couple hundred yards of gravel road.

The logger wanted to bury it all for me,, I enjoy both roads.

Do you have a way of turning the pile? After 6 years, a day with a 40 ton excavator would make that pile shrink as well as rot down faster. You might be surprised at how much the bottom has composted.

 

[jyoutz]

Here's the "view" from our front porch! Second picture is a close-up.
Our friends & neighbors spend lots of time on their back porch and their "view" of my mess!...but we're in the country & wouldn't trade it for anything. View attachment 848461View attachment 848462View attachment 848463

A small slash pile. I have one much larger than that. I was finally planning to burn it this winter, but I missed the first snow opportunity and now it’s too wet to burn.

 

[jyoutz]

A lot depends on the "intent" of the land,

I wanted reforest,, my state guy convinced me the sprouts from stumps would be the fastest growing trees,,
He was right,, I clear-cut 30 acres in 2018,, stumps are producing beautiful trees.

I asked about planting,, the state guy said that was throwing away $$$$$,,
natural regrowth would overpower anything planted,, due to soil pH, and other soil conditions.
Again, I think he was right..

As far as the pile, like you show,,
I have one pile, easily twice as big as a 2,000 sq ft ranch house. The pile is over 12 feet tall.
My logger asked if I wanted it spread, I said no,,

The wood is decaying nicely, some day it will be material that will enhance a garden.

Just my opinions,, Everyone has one,, this is just mine,,
Oh, yea, I also had them leave the corduroy road,, and a couple hundred yards of gravel road.

The logger wanted to bury it all for me,, I enjoy both roads.

Hardwoods will stump sprout and if the species composition is desirable species, that is how these forests are regenerated. But often there is a desire to focus on the most desirable species and what resprouts isn’t what the landowner wants to manage. And of course conifer species don’t resprout so they need to be planted.

 

[newbury]

conifer species don’t resprout so they need to be planted.

No, they just need the seeds put down in some cases. As I explained before some of my areas were left to reseed and did about as well as those I had planted.
/edit and now a quick look at planting cost seems that it could be $100 to $400/acre for the trees alone.
Average Cost to Plant Pine Trees per Acre (2023) - BootstrapBee.com

 

[1Mech]

I’ve been messing around with cleaning up a 25 acre logging job. The loggers used the slash to make skidder roads and mashed tons of slash in the ground. It’s proved to be extremely difficult to do anything with. It’s hard enough to get all the wood pulled out of the ground and once you do it’s hard if not impossible to burn because it’s so dirty. Trucking it off site is out of the question. I’ve about decided to let nature take it’s course at this point.

You should have plenty of termites to help out in Tennessee.

 

[Fixastuff]

If you have a pile in my area you can hear the pine bark beetles crunching away on dead pines from 15ft way on a quiet afternoon.