Got Nature? Blog

In this edition of ID That Tree, Purdue Extension forester Lenny Farlee introduces a whole family of trees, the red oak group. He identifies four common species and shows how to differentiate between them as well as how to keep the red and white oak groups separated.

If you have any questions regarding trees, forests, wildlife, wood products or other natural resource topics, feel free to contact us by using our Ask an Expert web page.

Resources
Red Oak, The Education Store, Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources
FNR Hardwood – Red Oak, The Purdue Arboretum Explorer
Red Oak, Native Trees of Indiana River Walk, Purdue – Fort Wayne
ID That Tree, Playlist, Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources Youtube Channel
A Woodland Management Moment, Playlist, Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources Youtube Channel
Investing in Indiana Woodlands, The Education Store
Forest Improvement Handbook, The Education Store

Lenny Farlee, Sustaining Hardwood Extension Specialist
Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resources


Did you know that pecan is a relative of the native bitternut hickory? Purdue Extension forester Lenny Farlee shares more about this species, which features relatively narrow leaflets, strong sulphur yellow colored elongated buds and a tight light gray colored bark with small interlacing ridges.

If you have any questions regarding trees, forests, wildlife, wood products or other natural resource topics, feel free to contact us by using our Ask an Expert web page.

Resources
Carya cordiformis, The Purdue Arboretum Explorer
Hickory and Pecan Species, Education Store, Purdue Extension resource center
Bitternut Hickory, Native Trees of Indiana River Walk, Purdue – Fort Wayne
ID That Tree, Playlist, Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources Youtube Channel
A Woodland Management Moment, Playlist, Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources Youtube Channel
Investing in Indiana Woodlands, The Education Store
Tree Appraisal and the Value of Trees, The Education Store
Forest Improvement Handbook, The Education Store

Lenny Farlee, Sustaining Hardwood Extension Specialist
Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resources


Some trees just don’t follow the rules. Case in point, the alternate leaved dogwood. As Purdue Extension forester Lenny Farlee explains, this native tree has an alternate leaf arrangement unlike its dogwood cousins in North America, which have an opposite leaf arrangement. It is still recognizable, however, by the venation running parallel to the outside edge of the leaf, and very large, egg-shaped leaves. It also has clusters of small white flowers in the spring.

If you have any questions regarding wildlife, trees, forest management, wood products, natural resource planning or other natural resource topics, feel free to contact us by using our Ask an Expert web page.

Resources
Cornus alternifolia, The Purdue Arboretum Explorer
ID That Tree, Purdue Extension – Forestry & Natural Resources Playlist
A Woodland Management Moment, Purdue Extension – Forestry & Natural Resources Playlist
Tree Appraisal and the Value of Trees, The Education Store
Investing in Indiana Woodlands, The Education Store
Forest Improvement Handbook, The Education Store

Lenny Farlee, Sustaining Hardwood Extension Specialist
Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resources


Posted on February 2nd, 2021 in Forestry, How To, Plants, Wildlife, Woodlands | No Comments »

A variety of different types of regeneration openings can be created on properties to provide different structures and species of plants that are suitable to a wide variety of wildlife species. In this episode of Woodland Stewardship for Landowners, Purdue Extension forester Lenny Farlee talks about two types of regeneration openings – clearcuts and shelterwoods. These two techniques produce an even-aged forest, where all the plants regenerating in that area are approximately of the same age.

If you have any questions regarding wildlife, trees, forest management, wood products, natural resource planning or other natural resource topics, feel free to contact us by using our Ask an Expert web page.

Resources
Woodland Stewardship for Landowners, Playlist, Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources (FNR) YouTube Channel
Woodland Management Moment, Purdue Extension – FNR Playlist
Woodland Stewardship for Landowners: Single Tree and Patch-Cut Harvesting, Purdue Extension – FNR Video
Hardwood Ecosystem Experiment: Uneven-aged Management, Purdue Extension – FNR Video
Hardwood Ecosystem Experiment: Even-aged Management, Purdue Extension – FNR Video
Finding help from a professional forester, Indiana Forestry & Woodland Owners Association
Forest Improvement Handbook, The Education Store, Purdue Extension resource center

Lenny Farlee, Sustaining Hardwood Extension Specialist
Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resource


In this Woodland Management Moment episode, Purdue Extension Forester Lenny Farlee talks about the importance of woodland management when it comes to invasive species. Without a management plan to weaken invasives, they can completely occupy the understory of our forests making it difficult for any of our native species to regenerate.

If you have any questions regarding trees, forests, wildlife, wood products or other natural resource topics, feel free to contact us by using our Ask an Expert web page.

Resources
A Woodland Management Moment, Playlist, Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources (FNR) Youtube Channel
Invasive Species, FNR Playlist
Woodland Stewardship for Landowners, FNR Playlist
Woodland Management Webinar: Healthy Woodlands, FNR Video
Woodland Managment Webinar: Selling Timber, FNR Video
Investing in Indiana Woodlands, The Education Store, Purdue Extension resource center
Forest Improvement Handbook, The Education Store
Invasive plants: impact on environment and people, The Education Store
What are invasive species and why should I care?, Got Nature? Blog, Purdue Extension
Woodland Invaders, Got Nature? Blog

Lenny Farlee, Sustaining Hardwood Extension Specialist
Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resources


Posted on February 2nd, 2021 in Forestry, How To, Plants, Publication, Woodlands | No Comments »

A well-managed woodland can promote wildlife diversity and forest health. Two of the more common techniques that we use are single-tree selection and patch-cut harvesting. Used together in the long term, these two techniques will create trees of multiple generations or different age trees within the same woodland. In this video, Purdue Wildlife Extension Specialist Brian MacGowan will talk about what these two techniques are, what trees they help grow and how wildlife species respond to them.

If you have any questions regarding wildlife, trees, forest management, wood products, natural resource planning or other natural resource topics, feel free to contact us by using our Ask an Expert web page.

Resources
Woodland Stewardship For Landowners, Playlist, Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources (FNR) YouTube Channel
Woodland Management Moment, Purdue Extension – FNR Playlist
Hardwood Ecosystem Experiment: Uneven-aged Management, Purdue Extension – FNR Video
Hardwood Ecosystem Experiment: Even-aged Management, Purdue Extension – FNR Video
Forest Improvement Handbook, The Education Store, Purdue Extension resource center

Brian MacGowan, Wildlife Extension Specialist & Extension Coordinator
Purdue Department of Forestry and Natural Resources


In this edition of ID That Tree, we introduce you to the cucumber magnolia. This native Indiana species is much like other members of the magnolia family, except it has green cucumber like fruit and a unique bark. Learn more from Purdue Extension forester Lenny Farlee.

If you have any questions regarding wildlife, trees, forest management, wood products, natural resource planning or other natural resource topics, feel free to contact us by using our Ask an Expert web page.

Resources
Indiana’s Native Magnolias, The Education Store, Purdue Extension resource center
Cucumber Magnolia, Native Trees of Indiana River Walk, Purdue Fort Wayne
Magnolia Acuminata, The Purdue Arboretum Explorer
ID That Tree, Purdue Extension – Forestry & Natural Resources Playlist
A Woodland Management Moment, Playlist
Investing in Indiana Woodlands, The Education Store, Purdue Extension resource center
Forest Improvement Handbook, The Education Store

Lenny Farlee, Sustaining Hardwood Extension Specialist
Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resource


Purdue Extension forester Lenny Farlee introduces you to the American Basswood. He shares about how to identify this species, where you might find them and common uses.

If you have any questions regarding trees, forests, wildlife, wood products or other natural resource topics, feel free to contact us by using our Ask an Expert web page.

Resources
FNR Hardwood – American Basswood, The Purdue Arboretum Explorer
Tilia Americana, The Purdue Arboretum Explorer
Basswood, Native Trees of Indiana River Walk, Purdue – Fort Wayne
ID That Tree, Playlist, Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources Youtube Channel
A Woodland Management Moment, Playlist, Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources Youtube Channel
Investing in Indiana Woodlands, The Education Store
Tree Appraisal and the Value of Trees, The Education Store
Forest Improvement Handbook, The Education Store

Lenny Farlee, Sustaining Hardwood Extension Specialist
Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resources


Posted on January 28th, 2021 in Forestry, How To, Wildlife, Woodlands | No Comments »

Join this edition of Ask an Expert video series with Dr. Joy O’Keefe and PhD candidate Elizabeth Beilke as they share about their studies of bats on the Hardwood Ecosystem Experiment.

The HEE is in its initial stages and is planned as a 100-year project. Data were collected for two years prior to the first round of timber harvests and inventories have been conducted annually since, allowing us to quantify the varied responses of plants and animals to active forest management. This data will ultimately be used to develop management prescriptions that provide for resilient and sustainable managed forest ecosystems in Indiana.

If you have any questions regarding trees, forests, wildlife, wood products or other natural resource topics, feel free to contact us by using our Ask an Expert web page.

Resources
Hardwood Ecosystem Experiment (HEE) Highlights: Bats, Video, Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources YouTube Channel
Hardwood Ecosystem Experiment (HEE), Playlist, Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources
Hardwood Ecosystem Experiment, Website
Hardwood Ecosystem Experiment – Wildlife Responses to Timber Harvesting, Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources
The Hardwood Ecosystem Experiment: Indiana Forestry and Wildlife, The Education Store
Ask An Expert: Bats on the Hardwood Ecosystem Experiment, Video, Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources Facebook
Bats in Indiana, Indiana Department of Natural Resources (IDNR)
Bat Houses, Bat Conservation International

Joy O’Keefe, Assistant professor and Wildlife Extension Specialist,
University of Illinois (Champaign) Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences


Posted on January 27th, 2021 in Forestry, How To, Plants, Woodlands | No Comments »

Purdue extension forester Lenny Farlee introduces you to the red elm, or slippery elm. He shares about how to identify the red elm and also how to differentiate it from its relative, the American elm.

If you have any questions regarding trees, forests, wildlife, wood products or other natural resource topics, feel free to contact us by using our Ask an Expert web page.

Resources
Elm, The Education Store, Purdue Extension resource center
Slippery Elm, Native Trees of Indiana River Walk, Purdue – Fort Wayne
ID That Tree, Playlist, Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources (FNR) Youtube Channel
A Woodland Management Moment, Playlist, Purdue Extension – FNR Youtube Channel
Investing in Indiana Woodlands, The Education Store
Tree Appraisal and the Value of Trees, The Education Store
Forest Improvement Handbook, The Education Store

Lenny Farlee, Sustaining Hardwood Extension Specialist
Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resources


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