| Log
Length |
Fores-@aol.com |
| Nov
06, 2003 08:00 PST |
Bob:
I have never actually sat down until just now to toss out some
of those
height numbers. I know a couple of big tree nuts in WV who are
always hunting for
records but there is no one I am aware of measuring maximum tree
heights in WV
with the degree of accuracy of ENTS.
In terms of several species of trees, merchantable height often
is a very
good indication of total tree height. In most cases, especially
dealing with
some of the more valuable hardwoods, merchantable height often
stops where limbs
or branches begin...red oaks and yellow poplars (plus cucumber
and basswood),
black cherry and walnut are the only trees that are regularly
used to a tip
end smaller than 12."
Before I do a chart, taper, relative a couple of measured
examples from past
timber sales....top wood and limb wood above merchantable height
is generally
30 to 50 additional height but can easily be 60' depending upon
utilization
specs or local markets.
black oak 18" DBH.... diameter at 54' (end of clean stem)
16"
yellow poplar 20" DBH.... diameter at 115'
12".......rest of stem shattered
when it fell
I almost never measure total tree height but I can sure tell
when I'm in a
100' woods......it really doesn't have to be that big or old and
it is not that
uncommon.
From past experience......for WV all species except soft
hardwoods
merchantable top diameter is historically 12" (10" in
a very competitive market),
poplars now utilized to 8" but historically 11-12" for
black cherry now 10" (or
smaller to 7")
Maximum log height WV Common MA/NE
Species WV
log height
Red oak 105'
75' 55'
White oak
90' 75' 45'
Black oak
100'
75' 45'
Chestnut oak 90+ 75'
25-30'
Yellow poplar 125+ 100+
40'
(Whately, MA)
Black cherry 105+
(10" tip) 85'
50'
White pine 110-120
(12" tip dia) 100' 100+
Sugar maple 80' 65' 48+
Red maple
90+' 75' 60+
Butternut 78+ n/a 50'
Shagbark hickory 100+ 80' 45+
Sycamore 120+ 110+ 100+
Common merchantable heights are not necessarily typical
merchantable heights.
Typical heights for red oaks are around 60,' typical heights for
poplars are
around 75' and typical heights for sugar maple is between 50 and
55'. As a
general rule (if there is one) typical tree heights are about
75-80% of common
maximum with absolute measured maximum about 125% of common
maximum.
Personally, I have seen very few trees that had a Doyle log
scale greater
than 4,000 board feet but many loggers I have worked with have
told of cutting
poplars with over 8,000 board feet and nearly everyone seems to
have a story
about a 5,000 to 6,000 board foot red oak. I know a forester for
a timber
company that sold an 84" DBH black walnut from company
lands for $25,000.....and the
tree turned out to be a 100+ foot chimney! I have sold timber in
the past to
a sawmill in Ohio that has a special saw to quarter logs that
are greater
than 60" in diameter. The last time I was there, I saw a
yellow poplar butt log
that was nearly 8' in diameter........it had grown along the
banks of the Ohio
River and had multiple years of 1.25" growth rings.
I am currently working on a timber sale on a tract of land that
was heavily
logged about 40-45 years ago. Although many of the trees are not
extremely
large, there are some red oaks and poplars between 30 and
38." Scattered
throughout the tract are scattered Eastern white pine trees that
run between 24 and
30" DBH with most of them hollow and fire-scarred. All of
the white pines I
have tallied so far have had a minimum of 4 16 foot logs....a
couple of culls
would have had 6 logs and a 32" pine tree that has about
6.5 logs of
merchantable wood also sports a very nice hawk nest. The pine
was retained for the
benefit of the hawks. Retained trees immediately surrounding the
hawk pine include
red and white oak, beech and hickory that are all of a similar
size. Hawks
always tend to find the best tree on a 1000 acres of land and
plop their nest
in the middle of it.
I had an earlier sale this year where there were a large number
of oaks,
including, red, white and black oaks in excess of 8' CBH....the
same sale had a
white ash nearly 11' CBH. Almost none of the timber in the sale
was over 90
years old!
I leave the really big ones! I have some very nice 12-15"
CBH red oak and
white oaks that were set asides as legacy areas on past timber
sales. If you
ever make it down to this part of the world, I'll take you to a
place close to
Weston where I had the opportunity to leave some of the largest
and highest
quality trees I have seen for several species.....I also left
some incredible
culls including cucumber, white oak, chestnut oak, black gum and
red oak in
excess of 15' CBH.
It really isn't until I am back in Massachusetts that I realize
how different
our woods really are. I am far more likely to encounter over
sized trees in
WV than I ever expected in New England but the likelihood of
encountering "old
growth" here is rare.......however, I have a close by
neighbor to Crummies
Creek who works for the Nature Conservancy and claims to have
some 150+ year old
forest on their family's 500+ acre farm. The only close by old
growth patch
I know for certain was devastated by an ice storm we had last
February, in
that area, several red oaks and poplars in excess of 10' CBH
were damaged and
killed.
Russ Richardson |
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