The center of the tree will start to turn a dark red, and will eventually show blackline spalt, as it continues to decay. This is what creates much of the amazing color that you see in our maple lumber. This slow decay from the inside out has its benefits though. The center will continue to rot until there is just a hollow shell left, and eventually the tree can no longer support the massive form. It is rare for a Maple to stay standing for more than 120 years. Once they pass 75 years or so, the center of the tree will start to decay. Most all of the forest of Western Europe were coppiced in order to create large volumes of wood charcoal before the discovery of coal.Īll of this vigorous early growth means that Maples don’t live to be all that old. Coppicing can yield up to 7 times the growth that you can get from traditional replanting methods. The result is that 10 years after being cut, a stump can have twenty or more new trunks all over 5” in diameter. The stump sprouts will grow incredibly fast, because they can immediately utilize the existing root structure of the old stump. Coppice is an age old forest management tradition that works on certain trees that will sprout back their stumps. This fast growth can be sped up even more by coppicing. It can even outgrow the notoriously fast growing Douglas Fir in its younger years. It is also the most vigorous tree in the forest. It can grow well under the towering Douglas Fir, and it grows equally well side by side with the Oregon White Oak. Maple is also a friendly tree and gets along with its neighbors well.
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