Tree Farmer - July/August 2009 - (Page 28)

Mast Photos & text By Managing wildlife matters jackson jeFF Full sun on this chestnut has produced a heavy crop. Mast — the fruits and nuts of trees — is, for many tree Farmers, the most interesting feature of their forest. Compare a forest with a diversity of wild fruits and nuts to a monotonous monoculture of conifers. Fruit and nut trees focus our attention to the events of each season. We visit our woods to see dogwoods flower in spring, to seek wild plums in summer, crabapples in early fall. Hunters find themselves drawn to stands of oaks during hunting season. Mast adds details to a day in the woods. A fox dropping in the path, full of persimmon seeds, informs you of current events. Where acorn mast crunches underfoot you become alert to look for deer or squirrels. A stump festooned with nutshells is evidence that this is more than a mere commercial forest. Mast adds complexity and enhances perception of subtle details in a forest. Mast is the personality of the forest. Hard mast refers to nuts of beech, chestnut, chinquapin, hickory, walnut, and oaks. Fruits are soft mast of crabapples, haws, hawthorns, red cedar, cherries, Jeff Jackson is a wildlife management consultant, based at his Tree Farm in Arnoldsville, Georgia. He is a retired professor of wildlife management and former Extension wildlife specialist at the University of Georgia. Reach him at (706) 543-2656. 28 Tree Farmer JULY/AUGUST 2009

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Tree Farmer - July/August 2009

Tree Farmer - July/August 2009
Contents
Cover Story
Testing GPS Handhelds
No Child Left Inside
Tree Farming in Paradise
From Your Committees
Ties to the Land
Wildlife Matters

Tree Farmer - July/August 2009