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Girdling a tree

Started by cj580, March 16, 2022, 02:52:34 PM

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cj580

I have been reading about girdling trees to remove unwanted species. After my reading the one thing I kept seeing was "girdling to remove unwanted hardwoods". My question is will this also work on pine? I have a area on my property that has several pines that I'd like to remove but can't get appropriate equipment to the area. So I have been thinking on girdling them and let them remove themselves. Thanks for any input. 

doc henderson

I think so.  In Alaska it is done to get standing dead wood for firewood for future years.
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B.C.C. Lapp

Yes it will kill them.  Make certain to cut at least two inches deep. Make two rings around the tree that meet.   It will take a while but it works.    I sometimes find trees that were girdled the last time the place was logged but the cutter didn't go deep enough and the tree survived. 
If the trees are less than 12 inches in diameter its really safer to just drop em. 
Listen, or your tongue will make you deaf.

WV Sawmiller

  My grandfather used to girdle cypress in the swamps of Fla. I think he got 10 cents per tree back then. They wanted them dead so they could saw them and float them out during high water periods. He had a mark he'd put on each tree to make sure he got the credit for the work and got paid for it. The butt flare was so big he'd often cut a notch or two and lay a board across it/them for scaffolding or as a springboard to work off of.
Howard Green
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kantuckid

In the deepest reaches of my meager brain, I remember reading that girdling was a practice used in Russia to dry wood on the stump to some extent. I forget to what end use. 
Mostly, chop em down makes more sense, as the equipment's only a saw.  :D 
In generality- If in an area "where equipment cannot go", it seems also likely that it's the same issues yet again when the dead tree becomes unstable?
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WDH

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cj580

Thank you for the advice. 

Ianab

Quote from: cj580 on March 16, 2022, 02:52:34 PMMy question is will this also work on pine? I have a area on my property that has several pines that I'd like to remove but can't get appropriate equipment to the area


Basically yes. It's done here in NZ when areas are being allowed to regenerate into native forest after being farmland or pine forest. Some random pines inevitably come up through the new canopy (faster growing than the local trees). Simplest control is to girdle them and let them die and rot in place. Obviously at some point they fall down, but if the area is remote it's no danger to people and the damage it may do is no different to any other random tree that naturally dies and falls over. 

This is a spot near Picton (South Island NZ) where someone appears to be restoring an area of native forest. You can see the progress they are making each year from Right to Left.  Some newly dead pines, some that have been dead for a year or so, and older snags that have lost their branches. 



 
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Ron Scott

Yes, girdling done correctly to interrupt the tree's cambium layer will kill any tree after a growing season or two. Its best to cut down any roadside trees that may fall across the road or trees near buildings so as to prevent any building damages or road closures when the trees fall down.

Also be aware of the safety hazard of deadened trees in your timber stand until nature has taken its course with the dead trees.
~Ron

tawilson

I think the porcupines have girdled a few of my pines over the years.
Tom
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cj580

Quote from: Ron Scott on March 17, 2022, 06:39:43 PM
Yes, girdling done correctly to interrupt the tree's cambium layer will kill any tree after a growing season or two. Its best to cut down any roadside trees that may fall across the road or trees near buildings so as to prevent any building damages or road closures when the trees fall down.

Also be aware of the safety hazard of deadened trees in your timber stand until nature has taken its course with the dead trees.
Yea the area I want to work on is behind my house. It's a closed canopy forest now. With sweet gums and pine. I want open up the area to allow sunlight in with selected trees to be left standing. There's no way to get any equipment in because of a creek that flows through my property. And I do not want to cut them down and have a large amount of debris on the ground at one time. Thank you for the help. 

peakbagger

My lot has some areas where girdling beeches was attempted to knock back beech regeneration. As I go around in the winter I see a lot of 6 to 10" beech that were girdled that are still living 20 years later. I have been advised that its best to cut the small ones completely and squirt them with Garlon, and girdle the larger trees then coat the girdled spot with Garlon.

cj580

Quote from: peakbagger on March 18, 2022, 06:15:23 AM
My lot has some areas where girdling beeches was attempted to knock back beech regeneration. As I go around in the winter I see a lot of 6 to 10" beech that were girdled that are still living 20 years later. I have been advised that its best to cut the small ones completely and squirt them with Garlon, and girdle the larger trees then coat the girdled spot with Garlon.
I plan on using a herbicide when I girdle them. I have read about a garlon,water,arsenal mix that I will use 

bluthum

Not all trees understand that girdling is fatal. I've girdled some sweet gum and black gum that defied all science and simple logic by regenerating themselves. Winged elm [Ulmus alata] is another mean one.

thecfarm

Them beech will sprout from the roots!!!
I have old family land here. We got some beech that was 2 feet across easy, hollow inside too, old beech. 
Went back to that area 5-6 years, could not hardly walk through it, beech trees everywheres.
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SwampDonkey

Beech will also callus and new shoots will come off that tissue.

Up here in the north, I'd cut those pine trees down and use for firewood as I needed them. Pine don't sucker. What little is left of the tree would rot in no time, and no dead standing snags around near your house. In the back yard I've used spruce limbs and snags as snow fence. Keeps 8 feet of snow drifts from happening. ;D
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1 Thessalonians 5:21

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Iwawoodwork

Yes, girdling works, but leaves a serious hazard to people and animals, depending on the specie, in 3 to 5 years it can become unsafe as limbs, top, entire trees can fall I have some natural dead Doug fir snags that are falling by pieces and parts so if this is an area where there will be foot or atv traffic in the future it is a very bad idea to girdle.  The safest long-term solution probably is to just fall them. Where are you located? maybe a forum member that has experience in falling that is close by that could give advice or help.

Iwawoodwork

I just reread your post about not wanting a large amount of debris on the ground, well you are going to have the debris at some point, either in a controlled direction or mother natures direction and hopefully none can reach any structures. When a tree dies so do the roots.

cj580

Quote from: Iwawoodwork on March 20, 2022, 03:36:06 PM
I just reread your post about not wanting a large amount of debris on the ground, well you are going to have the debris at some point, either in a controlled direction or mother natures direction and hopefully none can reach any structures. When a tree dies so do the roots.
Thanks for the response. The area I want to do this in is in a safe area for this. I have the experience and knowledge to cut and fell all these trees. But I can get the right equipment in the area to clean it up. I'm glad I found this forum lots of positive feedback and interesting post. Thanks guys I really enjoy this site. Hope everyone has a great week 

AndyVT

I have used girdling as a management tool on our 50 acres of mostly white pine, red oak and hemlock.
It does indeed  presents .a falling hazard over time.
It is far less work than falling a tree especially if you limb and block too.
It eventually kills the tree if properly done as noted.
It staggers the time that woody debris ends up on the ground.

With those caveats in mind, I decided to undertake the regeneration cut that is prescribed in our FMP.
Having a chip/saw crew come in here has major drawbacks;
Access is poor to bad for getting tractor trailers in and the building of landing and internal roads will be costly.
And it will require major disturbance  to a large swath of our woodland.

I will girdle all trees deemed useless for either pulp, firewood or sawlog.
Most of the pines to girdle have as many as 5 stems growing  from a single butt that is 4 feet around, 80 feet tall and not a single straight piece of timber in the whole dang tree!!!
I am the only one who frequents my woods so falling danger is minimal.

This is a major undertaking for me but I also have up to 6 years to get the work done.
I plan to have  fun working my woods during my retirement years.
Plus now I have to get a bulldozer 8)

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