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TREE PLANTING OPERATIONSTREE PLANTING OPERATIONS

Ralph D. NylandDepartment of Forest and Natural Resources Management

SUNY College of Environmental Scienceand Forestry

Syracuse, NY 13210

Nyland - 2010All rights reserved

Use of all or parts of this permission prohibitedwithout express consent of Ralph D. Nyland

Background reading:

Chapter 7, in Nyland, R.D. 2002. Silviculture: Concepts and Applications.Waveland Press. Long Grove, IL. 2ed.

Sources cited:

Savill, P.S., and J. Evans 1966. Plantation Silviculture in Temporate Regions With Special Reference to the British Isles. Clarendon Press, Oxford.

Stone, E.L., R. Feuer, and H.W. Wilson. 1970. Judging land for forest plantations in New York. Cornell Univ., NYS Cooll. Agric., Ext. Bull 1075.

Wenger, K.F., Ed. 1984. Silviculture. Pp. 413-456, Sect. 8, in Forestry Handbook. John Wiley & Sons. NY.

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… biologically suitable and serving the need

Two critical requirements …

… done correctly

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Evaluate and makedecisions about all the pertinent ones …

And remember to deliberate all the elements …

As a review …

… first think about site assessment

… and species selection

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Remember this …

… lets review some critical site and planting stock factors

… notice the low areas

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… and what happens to red pine at those areas

… with appreciably less than24 inches of soil to signs ofimpeded drainage

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… tufted foliage on thebranches

… a key symptom

… and early mortality in the most poorly-drained soils

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… you identify limiting site conditions by checking the soilNissen 2010

… note the mottles

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… a sign of impeded drainage

… so check the depth

… usually close to the surface in concave slopes

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BLACK = GOOD

SPECKLED = NO(Poorly suited)

... just ONE factor

We have guides to aid in site assessment …

From Stone et al. 1970

CONCAVE = POOR DRAINAGE

CONVEX = GOOD DRAINAGE

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… and read the landscape for signs of potential problems and opportunities

… typical seedlings should look like this (inverted)… with a good balance between tops and roots

… now think about the planting stock

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… they require properpackaging and storageto prevent desiccationand heating

… look for a 50/50 top-root ratio… and a dense and fibrous root system

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… good color, no damage,not desiccated, no mold

… and then let’s plant them

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… and then let’s plant them

How to plant a tree …

1 – Upright in position2 - Inserted to the root collar3 - Roots spread to a natural

arrangement4 - Soil firmly pressed around

the roots

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3 4

A well-planted tree :

After Wenger 1984

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… first dig a hole

… hold it open

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… insert the tree seedling and press the soil around the roots

Plant to the root collar …

… hold upright

… press soil around the roots

After Wenger 1984

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… with good supervision to insure a good result

… here operationally on a recently cut and prepared site

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… rows straight … seedlings upright … firmly pressed in … appropriate spacing

The goal …

... judging the quality of a planting operation based on guidelines like these

Source unknown

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… shallow holes often result in cramped, J-shaped root systems

… larger holes result in better root development

Good holeSomewhat cramped

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… with this end result from poor plantingSource unknown

… mechanized hole digging speeds the work… and may give you better holes

One option …… an old one

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… with the people concentrating on planting the trees

Or use a planting machine that digs an adequate hole and closes it again …

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… check out the partsSource unknown

.. and this caged version to protect the worker during “wildland” planting

Source unknown

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… other designs look like this

Source unknown

Note the site preparation andplanting in one operation

Back to the more simpleversion ….

… the tractor drivercontrols the spacing between rows

… the “rider” controlsspacing within rows

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… rows straight … seedlings upright … firmly pressed in … appropriate spacing

…or machine planted at bedded siteD.J. Moorhead, U. Georgia

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… what about doing some site preparation and planting in one operation

… pushing a V-blade to push debris asideD.J. Moorhead, U. Georgia

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… like thisSource unknown

… planting in the pathwaySource unknown

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… same parts … heavy dutySource unknown

… with this short-term result

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… leading to this

Check an example in the Blue Hills of Oregon ….

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First clearcutting to remove the overstory … ... then site preparation follows

… with seedlingsplanted at wide spacing to supplement the naturalregeneration

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… using stumps andcoarse debris to provideshade to the new trees

… or using sun screens ondry and exposed sites

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… producing the seedlings in greenhousesGeorgia Pacific, Maine

Now consider container planting …

… in a environment controlled for water, heat, light, and nutrients

Georgia Pacific, Maine

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… in containers like these

… or perhaps like this oneto grow plug seedlings

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… filled with artificial soil to enhance growth

… or in Styrofoam blocks like theseGeorgia Pacific, Maine

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… plantable seedlings in as little as 4-6 monthsGeorgia Pacific, Maine

… acclimated outside until ready for transport to the planting siteM.K. Bordeaux

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… and kept in the container until plantedGeorgia Pacific, Maine

… well equipped … ready to goGeorgia Pacific, Maine

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… using tools like these… using tools like these

… or dibbled in

Georgia Pacific, Maine

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… with the dibble pointconforming to the shapeof the plug around theroots

Georgia Pacific, Maine

… with workers betteroutfitted for safety

So lets plant a tree …

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… first, push in the dibbleto form a hole

… insert the plug seedling

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… planted

(excuse the dead seedling here)

… firmly pressing in theplanted plug seedling

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… success

(even springing back to life)

… each person plantinga row, controlling spacingwithin the row

Georgia Pacific, Maine

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… and the supervisor insuring appropriate spacing between workers and rowsGeorgia Pacific, Maine

… well doneGeorgia Pacific, Maine

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… growing well afterward

Georgia Pacific, Maine

… 1-year Jack pine

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… and successful plantations

… white spruce fromcontainer planting

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And what about planting unrooted cuttings …

… hybrid poplars, here

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… different style dibble

… but the same concept

… prepare a hole

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… insert a cutting

… burying all but the top bud

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… with this result

… and this at 1 year

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… diligent planning … successful execution … positive results

… even with shelterbelts

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… and wind breaks

Nissen 2010

… done well