Burning Timber

Illinois Timber · February 10, 2018, 01:13:28 PM

I'm in SE Illinois. DNR forester has really recommended that burn my timber, probably several years in a row, to kill off much of the undesirable undergrowth (American hornbeam, blue beech, maple, etc). The idea is to encourage long term oak, hickory, and walnut regeneration. Has anyone else burned their timber? What was your experience. Fire in the leaf litter is not supposed to hurt mature timber. I realize if brush is piled against a tree and it catches fire that it can kill a mature tree.

Ford_man · February 10, 2018, 02:27:38 PM

A few years ago I accidentally Caught my neighbors woods on fire it burned about 5 or6 acre before getting it out. It done a real good job of cleaning up the trash on the ground. I only found 1 dead stub that was burned. Sense then the trees have seamed to grow faster.

Kwill · February 10, 2018, 02:30:57 PM

I'd love to do ours but we have so many cedars and the terrain would be tough controlling the fire.

paul case · February 10, 2018, 03:07:48 PM

Once in a decade might not hurt but many of our woods near here burns every year or every other and it hurts it bad. The big mature Red Oaks and some other species are fire scarred and some of the smaller stuff burns off to a point and that is hard on tires.

I would leave it alone.

Autocar · February 14, 2018, 07:10:44 PM

Our place backs up to the rail road and when the trains ran on coal it burned about every fall. Most of the big timber has butt damage that I blame on all the fires over the years.

Kbeitz · February 14, 2018, 07:31:01 PM

Around here we would get a fine if we tried that...

Don P · February 14, 2018, 08:12:26 PM

Here the forestry dept will manage the burn. The farm I'm working on is scheduled for a burn in one stand this year for the same reasons. When done properly it is another tool to improve the timber stand.

WDH · February 15, 2018, 08:52:58 AM

Burning hardwood stands can be risky. Fire can create small damage spots on the base of the hardwoods and those can be entry points for fungal root rot. This is why I only burn pine stands, not hardwoods. If your goal is wildlife enhancement, and that is more important than quality sawlog production, then OK. Otherwise, I would not burn hardwood stands.

bluthum · February 15, 2018, 11:31:49 AM

I've done most of my 50 a. multiple times. Some of it is hardwood, some pine. I've made tractor trails so it makes fire breaks simple to make with a leaf blower and makes small burns 2-20 a. ] practical.

It is not a simple process to get right at all. Humidity, wind and fuel condition all play into it and 2 of those factors can change in a little while.There are general guide lines for this but even the experts admit it isn't a pure predictable science.

As for it being harmless to mature timber that's not entirely true. If the litter/duff is too dry you can kill every tree in the path or create nasty fire scars.

If you get it right the forest can sure benefit but the risks are obvious. Do all the research you can to include your state DNR guy if possible and if you decide to proceed do so with caution and on a small scale.

The National Forest guys here are relentlessly burning the Ozark and Sylamore National forests but personally I think they are far to aggressive with their methods and even the intent.