Study Title:
Pottery Clay Piles Shelterwood with Deer Browse Control

Case Study Type: Management type
Management Subcategory: ecological restoration
Site Photo:
https://www.uvm.edu/nesl/system/files/webform/new_case_study/18/oaktree.jpg

Lay Summary:
This case study describes a series of treatments designed to regenerate a well-stocked stand of red and white oak within the St. John's Abbey Arboretum. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------- Site Location -------------------------------------------------------

Location:
St. Johnsbury, Vermont

Location Description:
St. John's Abbey Arboretum

Latitude:
45.34

Longitude:
22.33

Directions:
Turn left in Albuquerque

Accessibility:
Fully accessible

Landowner Name:
St. John's Abbey

Landowner phone:
+1 201-333-6767

Landowner email: abbey@gmail.com
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------- Stand Information ---------------------------------------------------

Stand Area with Units:
4 acres

Cover Type:
Central hardwoods

Natural Community Classification:
Mixed Oak Forest

Plant Community/Habitat Class Growth Stage:
This stand has many high quality red oak and other northern hardwoods.  It is over 100 years old and the stand is showing some wear.  

Primary Forest Health Threat:
deer

Secondary Forest Health Threats:
abiotic damage

Primary Pests/Disease:
beech bark disease

Secondary Pests/Disease:
ash rust

Soils:
1843 Cushing –DeMontreville Complex – Sandy loam & loamy sand, rolling, average fertility

Estimated Stand Year Origin:
1882

Stand Origin Year Note:
Estimated based on ages in 2012.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------- Pre-treatment Conditions --------------------------------------------

Site Index with Units:
64 feet

Start date: Wed, 11/13/2019 - 00:00
End date: Fri, 11/19/2021 - 00:00
Stand History:
This stand has many high quality red oak and other northern hardwoods.  It is over 100 years old and the stand is showing some wear.  It adjoins the edge of the tower sports fields. The Old St. Joe Road is on the north and a woods trail is on the east.   There is a thin strip of northern hardwoods between this stand and the wetland which includes some Yellow birch.  

Pre-Treatment Species Composition:
Red oak sawlogs 5.4 MBF/ac
Red oak poletimber 10 cds/ac
White oak poletimber 5cds/ac
Sugar maple sawlogs 1.5 MBF/ac
Basswood poletimber 2 cds/ac
Misc sawlogs 0.6 MBF/ac
Misc poletimber 2 cds/ac

Species 1:
Quercus rubra (northern red oak)

Species 1 Percent(%):
50

Species 2:
Quercus alba (white oak)

Species 2 Percent(%):
25

Species 3:
Fraxinus nigra (black ash)

Species 3 Percent(%):
25

Pre-Treatment Growth Stocking:
None

Pre-Treatment Forest Health Issues:
No forest health issues worth noting.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------- Silviculture Prescription -------------------------------------------

Case Overview:
This stand was cut using the shelterwood method (down to 65-85ft2/ac in winter 2007.  It was planted with oak in spring 2007 with good initial survival that faded with the drought.  It was replanted with 1500 oak in 2008 which had good survival, but suffered from deer browse.   Some test tree shelters were added in 2008.  It was planted with 1,000 Red oak in 2011 which again were mostly taken by deer.  In 2014, the entire unit was fenced.  The site is good for oak.  Ground cover is very heavy to Rubus on half the site.  Red maple is prevalent.  In fall of 2016, the site had 800/ac natural and planted oak < 10 cm and 500 /ac > 10cm.  The slash was reduced quite well through the harvest, but there is still occasional scattered slash. 

Silviculture Objectives:
Use a shelterwood harvest to create growing conditions favorable for oak seedlings.  Retain the best trees for seed.  Regenerate using natural seeding and planting as needed.  Allow 10-20 years for regeneration to reach breast height.  Prevent shade-tolerant species from out-competing oak seedlings.   Keep deer from eating the seedlings.

Landowner Objectives:
Use a shelterwood harvest to create growing conditions favorable for oak seedlings.  Retain the best trees for seed.  Regenerate using natural seeding and planting as needed.  Allow 10-20 years for regeneration to reach breast height.  Prevent shade-tolerant species from out-competing oak seedlings.   Keep deer from eating the seedlings.

Silviculture Prescription:
The stand is being managed for oak.  Younger maple and other pole size trees are not crop trees and no extra care is needed to protect them during the felling or skidding.   All oak and all other large trees over 8” not marked with red paint should be considered crop trees and protected.  Use directional felling to minimize damage to the crop trees. 

Use all merchantable wood to the extent that utilization will not negatively affect valuable crop trees.  As needed, do some bucking in the woods to create shorter logs for skidding. 
Cut all slash to within 36 inches of the ground.  Firewood cutters will be allowed into this area. 
Leave standing all snags that are not a safety hazard.
Avoid skidding or landing on the clay piles used for the pottery.  (Located just outside the stand.) 
The pottery has permission to harvest poles less than 4 inches in diameter prior to the main harvest. 

Regeneration Targets/Goals :
Fell or girdle stems marked with red paint.  This is a Shelterwood cut. 

Regeneration Method:
seed-tree

Factors Influencing Prescription Choice:
- climate change
- browse pressure

Climate Adaptation Considerations:
None

Prescription Notes:
2014 – July: Fenced with 9 foot wire fence. Construct a fence that will keep white-tailed deer out of the unit 99+% of the time. Provide 16’ gates for management access. The fence must last at least 10 years and preferably 20. Use 8 foot woven wire (12 gauge-fixed knot). Put one smooth wire on top of the posts to help prevent damage from

2016 –Oct Red oak -450 <10cm seedlings/ ac.  200 10-20 cm seedlings/ ac.  100 20+cm seedlings/ ac.  White oak -50 <10cm seedlings/ ac.  (Half the plots had heavy Rubus and zero oak.)  Basswood /Sugar maple/ Red maple – 1,500 seedlings/ac.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------- Post-treatment ------------------------------------------------------

Post-Treatment Assessment Done:
no

Post-Treatment Assessment Expected:
yes

Post-Treatment Assessment:
Tree summary data from 2012, 5 years after the shelterwood harvest:
Age est. 130 years
Growth Potential good (SI 64)
Tree Density Good (93ba)
Timber Quality Good


Treatment Notes:
As noted above, although the shelterwood treatment to reduce residual basal area to 65-85 ft2/ac was successful in producing oak regeneration, both deer browse and drought have created challenges recruiting oak regeneration. 

Post Harvest Regeneration Monitoring Data:
Timber volume 13 cords + 4.500 MBF/ac as follows:

Red oak sawlogs 4.5 MBF/ac
Red oak poletimber 7 cds/ac
White oak poletimber 0 cds/ac
Sugar maple poletimber 2 cds/ac
Red maple poletimber 4 cds/ac
Misc sawlogs 0 MBF/ac
Misc poletimber 0 cds/ac

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------- Miscellaneous -------------------------------------------------------

Treatment Total Time:
890

Treatment Total Cost:
$10,347.23

Treatment Cost Notes:
Fencing based on 2014 prices: Materials (and freight to field site): $ 5,053 (includes $350 shipping). Corners cost an extra $75 each in materials. Avoid corners as possible. Price per thousand feet for materials = $2,800. Price/acre for materials = $1,260/ac. Very high! Removal cost in 10-15 years will be quite high!

Future Treatment Plans:
The fence will be maintained and repaired as needed. The site received a brush control treatment in April 2017 (pictured below) to accelerate oak seedlings' ascension through competing Rubus and red maple near the ground layer. The site will be monitored for deer browse and other issues over time, with the hope to protect oak seedlings until they recruit into the midstory and ultimately form a new cohort. 

Additional Considerations/Key Details:
- road construction/maintenance

General Notes:
St. John's Abbey and Arboretum has a long history of stewardship and use of its oak resource. The Abbey is committed to maintaining oak on sites favorable to its growth, even when costs to do so are high due to deer browse, drought, and other issues. The series of treatments implemented in this case study appear to have set the stand on a good trajectory for growth, although the treatments were more elaborate, and the costs higher, than initially hoped in order to protect oak seedlings from deer browse. 

Keyword(s):
oak, deer, drought

Data Available?:
yes

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------- Statistics ----------------------------------------------------------

Basal Area Pre-Harvest:
4

Basal Area Post-Harvest:
4

Basal Area Acceptable Growing Stock:
4

Trees Per Acre:
32

Trees Per Acre Post-Harvest:
21

Mean Stand Diameter:
10

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------- Contact Information -------------------------------------------------

Primary Contact:
John Smith

Contact Title:
Forester

Contact Organization:
St. John's Abbey Arboretum

Contact Email: abbey@gmail.com
Contact Phone: +1 201-333-6767
Contact Address:
704 Spear St
#10
St. Johnsbury, Vermont. 05819
United States

Biography:
With credit to former forest manager Tom, who appears in the video linked above.

Contact Photo:
https://www.uvm.edu/nesl/system/files/webform/new_case_study/18/autumnforesttiny.jpg

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------- Supplementary Content -----------------------------------------------

Additional files:
- https://www.uvm.edu/nesl/system/files/webform/new_case_study/18/yamlexample.txt