Got Nature? Blog

On this edition of ID That Tree, Purdue Extension forester Lenny Farlee shows you the differences between two non-native species commonly found in Indiana in decorative capacities, and especially during the holiday season, firs and spruces. Learn the differences in needles, cones and twigs so you can tell these species apart.

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:
ID That Tree, Playlist, Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources YouTube Channel
A Woodland Management Moment, Playlist, Purdue Extension – FNR YouTube Channel
Shrubs and Woody Vines of Indiana and the Midwest, The Education Store, Purdue Extension Resource Center
Native Trees of the Midwest, The Education Store
Investing in Indiana Woodlands, The Education Store
Forest Improvement Handbook, The Education Store
Pin Oak, Native Trees of Indiana River Walk, Purdue Fort Wayne

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

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It’s not holly, but it will help you keep holiday cheer long into the winter, meet Winterberry. On this edition of ID That Tree, Purdue Extension forester Lenny Farlee explains the difference between winterberry and holly, as well as how to identify this deciduous plant.

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:
ID That Tree, Playlist, Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources YouTube Channel
A Woodland Management Moment, Playlist, Purdue Extension – FNR YouTube Channel
Shrubs and Woody Vines of Indiana and the Midwest, The Education Store, Purdue Extension Resource Center
Native Trees of the Midwest, The Education Store
Investing in Indiana Woodlands, The Education Store
Forest Improvement Handbook, The Education Store
Pin Oak, Native Trees of Indiana River Walk, Purdue Fort Wayne

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

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On this edition of ID That Tree, meet umbrella magnolia, a small tree easily identified by the clusters of long simple leaves at the end of the twigs, which form an umbrella shape, and by its beautiful white blossoms 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:
ID That Tree, Playlist, Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources YouTube Channel
A Woodland Management Moment, Playlist, Purdue Extension – FNR YouTube Channel
Shrubs and Woody Vines of Indiana and the Midwest, The Education Store, Purdue Extension Resource Center
Native Trees of the Midwest, The Education Store
Investing in Indiana Woodlands, The Education Store
Forest Improvement Handbook, The Education Store
Pin Oak, Native Trees of Indiana River Walk, Purdue Fort Wayne

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

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Hardwood Tree Improvement & Regeneration Center (HTIRC) Newsletter: USDA conservation programs provide technical and financial incentives for landowners to install and maintain conservation practices, including tree plantations. They are an important tool to help encourage landowners to make an investment in long-term activities like planting hardwood trees. Research across the eastern US, including work done by the HTIRC, demonstrates that deer browse can be one of the most significant barriers to establishment of a successful tree plantings. Deer may increase mortality, but more often they are preventing planted or naturally regenerating trees from growing in height due to repeated browsing. This damage can also deform trees, resulting in poor stem form and lower potential log quality. Plantations where deer selectively browse desirable species may lose important species like oaks due to overtopping by less favored, and therefore less browsed, species that become free to grow. Reducing the damage done by deer browse is an important, and in many locations the most critical step in successful tree planting establishment in many areas across the eastern US.

One of the primary purposes for these conservation tree plantings is developing forest wildlife habitat, but to successfully establish that habitat may require excluding deer for a few years, until the trees are tall enough to continue growing past the deer browse damage. Fortunately, many state Natural Resource Conservation Service offices are recognizing the impact that deer browse is having on establishing successful conservation tree plantings. To address this barrier to successfully establishing tree plantings and natural regeneration, new scenarios are being added to the Tree and Shrub Establishment practice:

• • The “Planted Area with Protection” scenario provides cost assistance for tree and shrub planting and placement of a temporary perimeter fence to exclude deer until trees have grown above the height of deer browsing.
  • The “Regeneration Area with Protection” scenario provides cost assistance for placement of a temporary fence to protect natural regeneration of tree and shrub species.
  • Increased cost assistance payments may be available to help offset some of the additional cost a deer exclusion fence adds to a planting project. States may have differing cost assistance rates and practice requirements. These and other additions to the NRCS tree planting practices provide landowners and natural resource managers effective tools to establish tree plantings that can produce high quality hardwood trees in the future. Check with your local foresters and NRCS offices to see if this practice is available in your area and details on payment rates and requirements. If the practice is not available, work with your local resource management contacts to request addition of this practice for your area in the future.

The HTIRC has supported this fencing practice through research and demonstration plantings that have showcased the benefits deer exclusion fencing can provide for timely establishment and timber quality development in hardwood plantings.

Resources:
Woodland Stewardship For Landowners, Playlist, Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources YouTube Channel
Woodland Management Moment, Purdue Extension – FNR Playlist
A Woodland Management Moment – Deer Fencing, Purdue Extension – FNR Video
Wildlife Habitat Hint: Exclusion Cage, Purdue Extension – FNR Video
How to Build a Plastic Mesh Deer Exclusion Fence, The Education Store, Purdue Extension resource center
Ask An Expert: Handling Harvested Deer, Purdue Extension – FNR YouTube Channel
Forest Improvement Handbook, The Education Store
Finding help from a professional forester, Indiana Forestry & Woodland Owners Association

Lenny Farlee, Sustaining Hardwood Extension Specialist
Hardwood Tree Improvement & Regeneration Center (HTIRC)
Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resources

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In this episode of ID That Tree, Purdue Extension forester Lenny Farlee introduces the blue ash. This native Indiana ash species can be differentiated from other members of the ash family by corky edges on the twig, more branches lower on the stem and a platy, ashy gray bark.

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:
ID That Tree, Playlist, Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources Youtube Channel
A Woodland Management Moment, Playlist, Purdue Extension – FNR Youtube Channel
Shrubs and Woody Vines of Indiana and the Midwest, The Education Store, Purdue Extension Resource Center
Native Trees of the Midwest, 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

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In this edition of ID That Tree, meet the Eastern Hop Hornbeam, so named because of its fruit which resembles hops. This small, native, shade tolerant tree also is identifiable by its simply finely toothed leaves on thin twigs as well as its brown flaky bark. Learn how to separate it from its cousin American Hornbeam inside.

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:
ID That Tree, Playlist, Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources Youtube Channel
A Woodland Management Moment, Playlist, Purdue Extension – FNR Youtube Channel
Shrubs and Woody Vines of Indiana and the Midwest, The Education Store, Purdue Extension Resource Center
Native Trees of the Midwest, 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

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This native tree comes with its own defense system in very large thorns on the stems and trunk. Meet the honey locust. Purdue Extension forester Lenny Farlee explains that large, long yellow seed pods that resemble bean pods, the option of single or doubly compound leaves on the same tree and smooth gray bark also help identify this species.

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:
ID That Tree, Playlist, Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources Youtube Channel
A Woodland Management Moment, Playlist, Purdue Extension – FNR Youtube Channel
Shrubs and Woody Vines of Indiana and the Midwest, The Education Store, Purdue Extension Resource Center
Native Trees of the Midwest, 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

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If you have ever noticed acorns so numerous that you could not take a step without crushing several, you may be asking the question, “why are there so many acorns?” Some answers to this question can be found in the physiology and ecology of trees and their relationship to wildlife. Oaks and several other tree species occasionally produce enormous crops of seed. This is called “masting” or “mast events”. These events are periodic. In the case of many oak species, a large mast event may happen every two to five years, depending on the species of oak and several other factors. Masting events may be preceded and followed by small or moderate acorn crops, or complete crop failures in some cases. Why does this irregular seed production happen? These events may be tied to several aspects of the life of oaks.

First, the production of a huge volume of a large seed like an acorn requires a lot of resources from the tree. This level of production may not be possible for the tree every year. Trees allocate energy to several different functions, so committing large amounts of energy to one area could mean deficits in others. This may mean there are advantages for the tree to produce occasional, rather than annual, mastings.

Second, weather does not always cooperate to provide the conditions for a bumper acorn crop. Unfavorable weather during pollination and seed development periods can result in reduced production of acorns. Late spring freezes, extremely high temperatures, summer droughts and other weather stresses can reduce acorn pollination and production.

Third, predation by seed-eaters like squirrels, deer, turkey and even weevil larvae can greatly reduce the number of viable acorns. It may take a very large acorn crop to have many acorns escape from the numerous species that depend on acorns for food.

This irregular cycle of large crops can be beneficial for the oaks by overwhelming the seed eaters. Populations of wildlife that depend on acorns may eat most of the seed during normal seed crops, but may not be able to utilize all the seed produced during a masting. This surplus seed is available produce the next generation of oak seedlings. 

However, some species will produce copious amounts of the mast if the developmental age of the tree is favorable, regardless of conditions. 

Acorn production can vary by species and individual trees across the oak family, but masting is a way this important group of trees can continue to be a part or our Midwestern landscape.

Resources:
Woodland Management Moment: Direct Seeding, Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources (FNR) YouTube Channel
Ask an Expert: Tree Selection and Planting, Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources (FNR) YouTube Channel
Forest Improvement Handbook, The Education Store, Purdue Extension resource center
Native Trees of the Midwest, The Education Store
Investing in Indiana Woodlands, The Education Store
Tree Pruning Essentials, The Education Store

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

Lindsey Purcell, Chapter Executive Director and Certificate Liaison
Indiana Arborist Association

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On this edition of ID That Tree, Purdue Extension forester Lenny Farlee introduces you to one of our common bottomland trees, the Eastern Cottonwood. This tree stands out for its triangular or delta shaped leaves, often with prominent teeth along the edges, which extend from long flattened leaf stems. This native tree is named for its early season fruit, which is a little tuft of white hairs that holds a small seed that is produced in large quantities and often blown far from the parent tree.

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:
ID That Tree, Playlist, Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources Youtube Channel
A Woodland Management Moment, Playlist, Purdue Extension – FNR Youtube Channel
Shrubs and Woody Vines of Indiana and the Midwest, The Education Store, Purdue Extension Resource Center
Native Trees of the Midwest, 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

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Prescribed or targeted grazing has been used on Western rangelands for many years to manage range weeds and is also used to reduce fuel and maintain fire breaks in high fire hazard areas. It has also been used in the south to help control kudzu.

In a recent study, Purdue Extension forester Ron Rathfon tested goat grazing as a method to control a continuous stand of mature, dense multiflora rose in the understory of one of the timber stands at the Southern Indiana Purdue Agricultural Center (SIPAC). After the steep slope resisted a few rounds of prescribed fire and conventional methods like cutting and spraying were deemed impractical due to the terrain and the thick growth of thorny rose, Rathfon decided to give the animals a try at reducing the invasive species.

The results of Rathfon’s five-year experiment were recently published in the journal Restoration Ecology (Volume 29, Issue 4, May 2021) in an article titled “Effects of prescribed grazing by goats on non-native invasive shrubs and native plant species in a mixed hardwood forest.” Rathfon co-authored the publication with professor of forest ecology Dr. Mike Jenkins, and master’s degree alumna Skye Greenler.

“Although prescribed grazing is not new, no research has been published demonstrating its use for invasive brush species management in eastern hardwood forests and quantifying its impacts on native vegetation,” Rathfon explained. “The goal was to test the use of the goats to control invasive woody brush species as a first step in restoring degraded hardwood forests. I anticipated the goats would reduce understory plant cover. What I didn’t know is how long it would take or whether native vegetation would be more severely impacted than the targeted invasive plants.”

Rathfon and his cohorts varied the goat stocking rate (16 vs. 32-48 goats per acre) and also the number of times a plot was grazed during a growing season (once or twice). Goats were not left in the woods continuously throughout the growing season. When they consumed all green leaves, they were removed, to prevent serious long-term damage to the trees, which had occurred with past livestock grazing in woodlands.

Full Article >>>

Resources:
What are invasive species and why should I care?, Purdue Extension-Forestry and Natural Resources Blog
Invasive Plant Series: Swallow-worts, The Education Store, Purdue Extension resource center
Mile-a-Minute Vine, The Education Store
Planting Forest Trees and Shrubs in Indiana, The Education Store
Invasive Species Playlist, Purdue Extension-Forestry and Natural Resources YouTube Channel
Report Invasive Species, Purdue Invasive Species
The GLEDN Phone App – Great Lakes Early Detection Network
EDDMaps – Early Detection and Distribution Mapping System
Indiana Department of Natural Resources: Invasive Species
Indiana Invasive Species Council
Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area (CISMA)

Wendy Mayer, FNR Communications Coordinator
Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resources

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