Forest Rehabilitation

It's never too late to improve the health of the forest, even after a devastating event. Depending on the type and extent of the disturbance, there are a variety of forestry practices to speed up forest recovery, while reducing the potential for a similar event in the future.

Fire damage

Swift action is necessary post fire to ensure that a healthy forest is regenerated for the future. The stand pictured below, burned at a very high intensity, with approximately 5% survival.

The recovery of California's forests starts immediately following a fire. An emergency timber harvest of dead and dying trees is an important step in speeding up the recovery of a severely damaged stand. If left standing, these dying trees will proceed to fall to the forest floor over the next 5 - 15 years, creating an even greater fire hazard and hindering seedling establishment. The first step is determining which trees are likely to die or become a vector for insect and disease infestation. These trees are then marked by the RPF developing the CALFIRE Emergency Notice. In a situation such as this, it is important to harvest the timber before the insects invade, degrading the wood quality and potentially preventing the sale completely.

Erosion control is an important aspect of forest rehabilitation which will be addressed by the forestry consultant managing your rehabilitation plan. Get in touch with us today to learn more about how you can restart your healthy forest!

Insect Damage

There are a variety of insect infestations which can occur depending on the tree species present. These infestations can spread to cover large areas if not managed correctly. The extent and severity can often times become compounded by drought, tree density, management decisions, buildup of dead and down, and previous fire damage. The images below depict what can occur if insect damage is misdiagnosed or otherwise left untreated:

Bark Beetles

Bark beetles are species specific and can cause extensive large scale forest damage, as shown in the photograph above.

The Western Pine Beetle and the Mountain Pine Beetle will attack most pine species throughout western North America. Outbreaks most often begin where trees have been stressed by injury, poor site, overcrowding, or disease and can progress to killing whole stands. The most common symptom of an infected tree is the red pitch tubes at the entry hole.

The Douglas-fir beetle usually kills trees in small groups and is associated with stands affected by windfall, fungal infestations, and fire. Often, the first sign of attack is clear resin exuded from the bole of the tree as shown in the photo below. This is followed by the needles turning a light green to yellow, followed by red color.

A Douglas-fir tree showing symptoms of fungal infection followed by the early stages of DF beetle infestation.

Later stages of tree infestation post wildfire. The bark has been stripped off by birds in search of the attacking beetles. If left untreated, this stand has a high potential of developing an epidemic, which would most likely lead to another high intensity wildfire.