((PKG)) FORENSIC FORESTRY
((TRT: 5:08))
((Topic Banner: Forensic Forestry))
((Reporter/Camera: Jeff Swicord))
((Map: Keedysville, Maryland))
((Main character: 1 male))
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((Jonathan S. Kays
Forestry Extension Specialist, University of Maryland))
When I’m in the woods I am looking for signs that I know that are there. I can see the way the trees are growing. It tells me something. It’s almost like forensic forestry. You’re going out and you’re looking for signs that are telling you things about what’s happened there in the past.
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((Jonathan S. Kays
Forestry Extension Specialist, University of Maryland))
Got a master’s in forestry. I’ve worked 30, about 33 years with the University of Maryland Extension doing education and outreach with woodland owners.
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((Jonathan S. Kays
Forestry Extension Specialist, University of Maryland))
This is kind of interesting in terms of the natural development of these woods here. So all this land was cleared at one time and was abandoned. And basically it started to, you know, to regrow back.
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((Jonathan S. Kays
Forestry Extension Specialist, University of Maryland))
It starts out with grasses and things like that and then the woody species come in. And the trees that first come in are those that are totally intolerant. In other words, they are intolerant of shade. They require full sunlight.
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((Jonathan S. Kays
Forestry Extension Specialist, University of Maryland))
And that’s what you see here. This is the remnants of all the locust trees, black locust trees. So they kind of died out. So what you’re looking at is the earlier trees that have basically fallen to the ground. And those later successional species of like hickory and oak and things like that have now, you know, taken over and that’s what you see in this forest now.
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((Jonathan S. Kays
Forestry Extension Specialist, University of Maryland))
So why is it so important to make sure that forests are doing okay and what are their value? Well, of course, many of these have come out recently because of the big focus on climate change. You know, the fact that forests turn carbon, you know, dioxide into oxygen. They protect water quality by reducing erosion. They provide habitat for wildlife.
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((Jonathan S. Kays
Forestry Extension Specialist, University of Maryland))
This is a little cleared area down here and all the duff has churned up probably from turkey or deer who are looking around for acorns and nuts to eat for the, you know, buff up for the winter. You can see little pieces of acorn. So this is probably more just marking territory. And the deer and both turkeys will do that as well.
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((Jonathan S. Kays
Forestry Extension Specialist, University of Maryland))
What is a healthy forest? If there is something we can do to control some of the invasives that are really affecting the woods, that’s a good thing. A lot of things like grape vines and things like that are really affecting the canopy of their dominant trees. And they produce native grapes which are eaten by birds and turkeys. They have a lot of wildlife value but they also can cause a lot of the damage to trees. So, you know, one thing working with landowners is to have a compromise between having some grapevines but for those trees that you really want to be, you know, dominant in your forest that you typically would just cut these off at the ground and, you know, stop them from causing a lot of damage to the, to your main trees.
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((Jonathan S. Kays
Forestry Extension Specialist, University of Maryland))
Most people are managing for things that directly affects them. They’re interested in wildlife, in conservation. Deer are overabundant at this point. They basically had a large impact on the biodiversity of the forest throughout most of the eastern United States.
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((Jonathan S. Kays
Forestry Extension Specialist, University of Maryland))
So this is a trail cam [camera]. This is here by one of the hunters here on the property. We really encourage hunting of deer. They tend to eat a lot of the natives first, which is another reason why we have so many problems with invasive species.
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((Jonathan S. Kays
Forestry Extension Specialist, University of Maryland))
And a lot of the programing we do is by working with private landowners and going to their property so they can demonstrate that to others. And we train volunteers as well, called the program called Maryland Woodland Stewards. And at the end of the day, what makes me happy I guess is to see that they’ve done some good management on their property.
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