maine maple trees

[kenkayak]

Im working, cutting stove wood on a large lot in Newcastle Maine The red oak is doing fine,the white oak isnt doing much but its solid,but the maple  almost to a tree is developeing soft centers or at best the center is dark  this has changed my hardwood/ firewood harvesting and im doing almost 100% maple.Im wondering if maple is in decline in all the northeast or just in this area.//////Its good to be back reading the forestry forums after having trouble's with my little notebook p/c It seems great looking at this great big screen.Let me know how ya maple is doing /kenkayak 

[John Mc]

My maple is mostly fine her in the Champlain Valley of Vermont.

Are you working in a wet area? Sometimes the centers can get soft on Maples if they are growing on soil that is not well drained.

[SwampDonkey]

I'm up in New Brunswick and the maples are fine here. But, I might mention that maples can be sensitive to the type of management being practiced to. Over cutting can lead the sun scald and root damage and if small diameter suppressed ones are left after taking the dominant ones out they will usually slowly die from scald as well. Small diameter usually isn't young unless the bark is pretty smooth. Our young sugar maple has very smooth bark. If it's got real rough bark with rotten stubs and green moss (not lichens) it's usually suppressed and older than you think. In a stand of 24-30 m²/ha (105-130 ft²/acre), I wouldn't thin that down below 18-20 m²/ha (78-87 ft²/acre). Roughly equates to 5-8 cords/acre taken out in 70 foot tall hardwood. I've seen a lot taken way below that and end up ruining the stand. If you have a lot of beech you have to make tiny clearcuts or just taking the beech out will release beech seedlings which will in turn choke out the maple seedlings.

[kenkayak]

Yes SwampDonkey This lot is not harvested or managed well /The pine /and big red oak arnt touched so the maple is probably struggleing for sun and growing to fast in this quite open lot.Im glad it seems to be a problem to just this lot.