Beech management

[Peter Smallidge]

American beech (Fagus grandifolia) is a wonderful tree with redeeming qualities for wildlife, timber, firewood, and aesthetics.  However, it is limited by the presence of two invasive pests, a scale insect and an introduce fungus.  When American beech is attacked by these pests, or if it is otherwise disturbed by cutting or other damages, it produces root suckers.  The root suckers can become very dense (> 7500 per acre that are less than 1" diameter). The suckers are tolerant of shade and are not typically palatable to deer.  The end result is a beech thicket that effectively excludes other more desirable hardwood species.

Because of the potential for beech, especially in the presence of beech bark disease (the insect + the fungus), many owners or foresters seek strategies to help control the abundance of beech.  There are a variety of methods, both organic and chemical in nature, that have specific circumstances where they are most appropriate.  The correct strategy depends on the size of the the biggest beech you wish to kill and whether there is a closed overhead canopy.  Not all management strategies have comparable effectiveness or efficiency. 

 

I wrote a fact sheet on beech management with Dr. Ralph Nyland, and the link to the pdf is provided.  This fact sheet is a good starting point for those interested in trying to manage beech.  After reviewing the fact sheet, if you have questions please share them here.  Also, if you try a management strategy, record the circumstances (e.g., number and size of beech, time of year, intensity of the treatment, % of stems treated, etc.) and share your success.  We will all learn from the reports of others.

I have attached a link to a Beech Bark Disease Symposium from about 2006.  This symposium proceedings has many interesting topics on the ecology, biology, pathology, entomology and management of beech and the related pests.  If you do an internet search on "beech bark disease" you will recover plenty to read.

 

[John McNerney]

Vermont Coverts had an insert on Beech Bark Disease in their September 2011 newsletter. I thought some folks here might find it interesting.

[Peter Smallidge]

John:

Great link to the newsletter.  Thanks for sharing.  Anyone wanting a thorough and accessible discussion of the disease should consult this link.

Peter

[BARRY GRAGG]

I would like to manage my approx 1 acre of beech sprouts for firewood by thinning them progressively and harvesting the wood at 3 to 6" diameter. Any guidelines or tips to go about this or is it just that simple? Is this an efficient use of land for firewood production? 

Thanks Peter.

[John McNerney]

I'm not really all that knowledgeable on the subject, but you might try googling the term "coppice firewood" or "Coppicing".  This is a practice widely used in Europe that sounds similar to what you are interested in doing. I heard a talk on it once, but that was several years ago, and don't remember much of the recommendations they made.

I've been meaning to experiment with it, but just haven't gotten around to it.

[BARRY GRAGG]

Thanks John.

[robert dalbo]

I recently had a visit from a forester I heard speak at the landowners conference at Pioneer High School. He recommended that I should control the beech in an area I want to have a timber harvest in the future. His recommendation was to use Garlon 4 for basal bark treatment or Mad Dog (roundup) if I elect to cut the beech. It seems to me that basal bark treament would be quicker, but maybe more expensive. Any thoughts on one versus the other

[Daniel Little]

One nice benefit of cut stump treatment is having the downed beech trees to help deter deer from browsing any subsequent regeneration you get in response to the added light to the forest floor.

[John McNerney]

You can leave the tops for some browse protection, and to eventually rot and return nutrients to the forest, and take the trunks for firewood - beech is excellent firewood.

You also might consider girdling (or basal bark treatment) for a couple of the larger trees to make snags for wildlife.