Back in May 2015 I girdled and applied herbicide to the
large trees in this area in an attempt to create a grassland corridor between
two areas of healthy prairie. I thought
it would be a few years before any of the killed trees began to fall. Things are progressing much more quickly than
I imagined.
In only a year and a half, about a third of the girdled
trees have already fallen. With one
exception, all of the fallen trees have been Tuliptrees.
Some of the trees dropped into the neighboring prairie. Since this area is still being treated to
eliminate invasive shrubs, I’ll remove the fallen trees to make it easier to
find and destroy any invading sprouts.
The trees broke just above the girdle ring. The girdling was done high enough on the
trunk that a tall stump remains. It’s
best to leave the stump tall enough to be visible in the grass. This way you are less likely to fall over or
run your mower up onto the stump.
It looks as though the dead trees hosted quite a few wood
boring insects. I was surprised to see
the extent to which the wood had been penetrated.
Woodpeckers appear to be taking advantage of the insect
laden tree trunks. I thought some of the
trees were large enough to serve as woodpecker nesting sites, but I don’t think
they are going to be standing long enough to serve that purpose. I’m expecting this tree to fall soon.
In June 2016, about a year after being girdled, the
Tuliptrees were still producing leaves on a few branches. I was having some doubts that I had
successfully killed the trees.
The trunks themselves gave some positive evidence that I was
getting the desired results. Impressive
fungus growths suggested that decomposition was occurring beneath the bark.
A variety of fungus species were present.
I was impressed by the number of fungus species that were
able to so quickly take advantage of the recently killed trees.
This area will soon be dominated by tall grass, but it won’t
be without a few trees. I have left
several young Blackjack Oaks, Quercus marilandica, to grow among the
grass. Blackjack Oaks have a special
relationship with several prairie invertebrates, and are well worth
saving. There won’t be enough trees left
to hinder the growth of the prairie grasses, but there will be enough to
enhance the quality of this small area.
You can read about the original girdling project by clicking
HERE.
Fascinating post once again.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lois. It's not a technique you want to use in your yard though.
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