Natural Resource Management TipsApproaches and tips landowners can use to help effectively management their land. |
Natural Resource Management TipsApproaches and tips landowners can use to help effectively management their land. |
October 15, 2017Take Advantage of Fall for Planting Trees for WildlifeSpring is not the only time for planting trees for wildlife. Fall is the perfect time to enhance your wildlife habitat with new vegetation. Trees and shrubs can be planted all the way up until the ground freezes and be ready to explode come spring.
Few, if any, properties out there have all the resources needed for wildlife. One solution is to implement wildlife management practices that add value to your property. Planting trees for wildlife should be an integral part of your wildlife management plan. Whether it is planting trees for deer or establishing hard mast producers like oaks and hickories for small mammals, vegetation improvements like these are extremely beneficial to your land. Next to spring, fall is a great time to plant trees for deer and other wildlife.
Selecting Wildlife Trees to Plant
When planting trees for wildlife, you can be overwhelmed by the choices available. First, stick with native species for your area. The last thing you want is to plant a tree that is invasive, which could destroy your wildlife habitat. Second, do not plant only one species of tree but instead vary the species when planting trees for wildlife. Many woody plants produce soft mast (fruit) or hard mast (nuts) that provide food for a wide range of wildlife species. Selecting a combination of soft mast trees for deer and other mast producing tree species ensures that there will be ample food supply on your property throughout the year.
Planting fruit trees for wildlife for instance provide soft mast for birds, small mammals and deer into the fall while hybrid chestnut trees for wildlife add hard mast forage that remains well into the winter. Make sure to include plants that produce fruit that are not highly preferred by wildlife. The reason is to make sure forage is available after all the desirable fruits and nuts are consumed. Examples are hawthorn, crabapple, holly, highbush cranberry and staghorn sumac. Planting trees for wildlife like these offer emergency winter food long after the apples and acorns are gone. Finally, consider all wildlife species when planting trees for wildlife in the fall. Many reading this are probably interested in planting trees for deer or the best food plot trees, however, other animals benefit from the addition of trees on your property.
Planting Trees for Wildlife is not Always About the Food
Cover is a key pillar of wildlife habitat management. Animals need cover to escape predators, mate and raise their young. In winter, wildlife species need shelter from the cold and wind. Evergreen trees and shrubs make some of the best shelters, especially those which keep their branches close to the ground. They provide shelter for many types of wildlife across the landscape and should be an integral part of your wildlife management plan.
Conifer trees, such as pines and hemlocks, and evergreen shrubs, like rhododendron and holly, make safe, year-round retreats where birds and small mammals can hide from predators and be protected from inclement weather. Diverse types and sizes of trees for wildlife are an integral part of your wildlife habitat management plan, because individual species of wildlife have different preferences in the amount and location of cover. In addition to planting, fallen trees provide cover for salamanders and small mammals. Brush piles are also sources of cover, nest sites and den sites for many wildlife species.
Consider Other Objectives When Planting Trees for Wildlife
Although wildlife is your main reason for planting trees in the fall, you should also consider your other management objectives for your property. For instance, certain tree species are more valuable than others. Depending on what a tree is worth and its potential value in the future, species selection may depend on both wildlife value and financial value. Refer to your wildlife management plan objectives before deciding which are the best trees to plant on your property.
Advantages and Disadvantages to Planting Trees in the Fall
The biggest advantage to planting trees for deer or other wildlife species in the fall is the avoidance of transplant shock. Wildlife trees planted this time of year have better growing conditions than those planted in the spring. Typically, trees planted in the spring are faced with unsettled weather and upcoming dry summer conditions that can limit success. In the fall, planting deer habitat or other areas for wildlife means more stable moisture, humidity and temperature. Vital conditions for tree planting success. Planting trees for wildlife in the fall has much better success rates because reduced transplant shock allows the roots time to re-establish before cold weather sets in.
A disadvantage with planting trees in the fall is that conifers do not take well this time of year. Conifers lose moisture from their leaves and needles they hold through the winter. This means they tend to dry out faster in the fall. You may want to delay the planting of evergreens until spring. If planting conifers in the fall, keep them watered during times of low moisture. Watering trees and shrubs planted in the fall, particularly conifers, during winter dry periods will greatly increase the odds of planting success.
Fall is a perfect time to plant trees for deer or other wildlife on your property. Consider the needs of your property and your wildlife objectives before digging your first hole. Use this opportunity for planting trees for wildlife to enhance your property’s wildlife habitat value and meet your long term management objectives.
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Pennsylvania forestry consultants, wildlife managers and agricultural conservationists managing and improving properties across the Keystone State and the Northeast since 2009. |
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