Tree Farmer - November/December 2011 - (Page 42)

Wildlife text and photos By Vines for Jackson wildlife matters 42 Jeff Do vines have value? Are vines weeds? Do vines fit in your management plan? Vines can be major competitors with trees. If you look down on a vast tract of southern forest in the Smoky Mountains, for example, you may see “grape holes” in the canopy. These gaps, which may cover an acre or more, reveal where vines have overgrown and killed the trees. In some parts of the south, kudzu is famous for covering all. Lesser vines may fall into the category of “brush.” For many people vines and brush need no precise taxonomy. We may know a few noxious species, such as poison ivy. But many species of vines have values that are often overlooked. Desirable vines may include various wild grapes, muscadines, moonseed, clematis, cross vine, trumpet vine, smilax, Virginia creeper, red trumpet honeysuckle, greenbriar, and others. Vines may produce fruits, browse, colorful flowers, or form valuable thickets for cover and nesting. Get to know your favorite vines on an individual basis. In my neighborInternational Year of Forests, 2011 hood, the muscadine is a favorite vine for deer hunters during bow season. Hunters search for, and remember, favorite trees that support these vines. I was not aware, several years ago, that the muscadine is dioecious (only female vines produce fruit). I planted several native crabapples around the edge of my hayfield and they have thrived. One was at risk of being covered by a muscadine, so I severed the vine at the base. It was a good producer of grapes, and on reflection, the only fruiting muscadine bordering the field. The vine never recovered. I wish I had favored the scarce vine instead of the common tree. A little known value of kudzu is that deer like it. Go out to a kudzu patch after dark during a drought in August. Shine your light and see the deer munching. Here are some ideas for managing vines. If you have a favorite wild grape or other fruit-bearing vine that is well established on a tall tree, keep in mind that the vine may be nearly as old as the tree that supports it. If you cut it off or expose it to prescribed fire to control undergrowth, it may never recover. To protect it, rake around the base of the vine before burning. Create islands of thicket cover by half-cutting selected trees and letting them fall into vine-covered areas. Allow the vines to grow over the trees. If these vines afford forage for deer, you will notice a browse line develop. Unlike low-growing browse plants, the vines cannot be eliminated by deer because those vines above the animals’ reach will continue to grow in every direction, both up and down. The downward-hanging vines will continue to sprout new leaves and stems During the years. Layers of browse-forming vines on the ground 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. Tree Farmer NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Tree Farmer - November/December 2011

Tree Farmer - November/December 2011
Contents
The Value of Certification
Markets Demand More Certified Wood
Tracking Through Chain of Custody
Farm Bill Progress Report
Corporate Policies Fuel Certification Efforts
Inspectors Explain Certification Goals
Certification: “Our Most Direct Impact”
Review Your Management Plan
Taxing Issues
Wildlife Matters
Woodland Security

Tree Farmer - November/December 2011