Tag: Tree health

Showing 31 – 40 of 47 resources

Does sugar removal impact trees? A complex question to answer.

Two main issues relate to the sustainability of maple sugaring; tree wounding and sugar removal. In other words, does a tapped maple tree grow more wood than is compartmentalized (functionally “removed by the tree’s normal wound response process) each year and/or does sap collection take more sugar from the tree than can be readily replaced through photosynthesis? These two issues, although separate in some respects, are inextricably intertwined.

Publication:
Maple Syrup Digest
Date:
October 1, 2014

Crown Release Equals More and Sweeter Sap

Have you ever wondered why open grown trees produce more and sweeter sap than the ones growing close to each other? To answer these questions, I would like to share with you from my 37 years of experience in forest management.

Publication:
Maple Syrup Digest
Date:
June 1, 2014

A model of the tapping zone

This article is intended to accompany the Tapping Zone Model available to download at the University of Vermont Proctor Maple Research Center (UVM-PMRC) website. It provides a general explanation of the model and how it can be used. The model can be used to estimate the chances of hitting conductive and nonconductive wood when tapping, and this can be used to assess the sustainability of current or planned tapping practices.

Date:
February 8, 2014

Sugarbush roots

The root systems of our trees are rather mysterious, and somewhat fragile. It pays to take precautions to protect the part of the tree that is not visible, just as we protect the rest of the tree that we can see.

Publication:
Farming, the Journal of Northeast Agriculture
Date:
October 1, 2010

The North American Maple project

The North American Maple Project, begun in 1988 with the goal of evaluating and monitoring trees from Nova Scotia to Minnesota, was initiated to answer many questions, which could be summed up as: what is the current health of sugar maple in these various regions, and is it getting better, worse, or staying the same?

Publication:
Farming, the Journal of Northeast Agriculture
Date:
January 1, 2010

What does a taphole do to a tree?

Tapping trees creates a wound that the trees are usually able to heal. But what is the impact of tapping on trees?

Publication:
Farming, the Journal of Northeast Agriculture
Date:
February 1, 2009

A History of Taps and Tree Size

The current ‘traditional’ tap hole number guidelines involve adding a tap for each 5 inch dbh above 10 inches dbh. ‘Conservative’ guidelines involve placing one tap in trees 12 inch dbh and a second tap in trees more than 18 inches dbh. The reasons behind the traditional guidelines are not stated in the North American Maple Syrup Producers Manual, but the conservative guidelines are suggested when there is concern for tree health. The purpose of this article is discover where these guidelines came from and to re-establish the reasons why they exist.

Publication:
Maple Syrup Digest
Date:
February 1, 2004

1998 Ice Storm Effects on the Health and Productivity of Sugar Bushes of Eastern Ontario

In 1998, fifteen managed sugar bush blocks with 7% to 72% ice-induced crown damage were established in eastern Ontario. Results suggest that severe ice storm damage to crowns resulted in reduced fall root starch levels and less sap production, and/or sap sweetness, and therefore lowered the syrup producing capacity of sugar maple.

Publication:
Maple Syrup Digest
Date:
December 1, 2003