firewood question

[rmorey]

Here in cold Ontario, things must last longer, especially red oak. We have a lot of 6-14' oaks that die and stay standing while the bark falls off many years later. As long as it is not actually touching the ground it can stay good for well over ten years. Once it falls, it seems to depend on the type of bacteria present. Standing maple on the other hand is often too rotten to bother bringing home after 2-3 years, the same with poplar and basswood.
Wood starts to loose its BTU content when it starts to rot as the bacteria actually uses the energy from the cells.

+1 :thumbsup:

We have 200 acres so the downfalls are plentiful 5 - 10 full cord per year easy. Red Oak will stand dead for many years, making it less a priority to worry about. Maple will begin to rot in 2-3 years, White Birch will be punky in 1 year, mush in 3. We watch dying trees carefully and try to harvest before the tree completely gives up the ghost.

 

[Lloyd_E]

"They' say as general rule you can harvest 1 cord per acre of your lot indefinitely - thinning, deadfalls, blowdowns etc. If this is true you are
good for 200 cords per year - I am jealous!!!

 

[mikehaugen]

"They' say as general rule you can harvest 1 cord per acre of your lot indefinitely - thinning, deadfalls, blowdowns etc. If this is true you are
good for 200 cords per year - I am jealous!!!

I read somewhere 1 cord per 10 acres per year. Don't know how they were figuring though.

 

[rmorey]

I think that you get more like 10 cord per acre. I can get a cord from 1 - 2 trees.

 

[JerryK]

Me thinks some of you are talking face cords, and others real cords.... [ ]

 

[mikehaugen]

I think that you get more like 10 cord per acre. I can get a cord from 1 - 2 trees.

That seems way extreme to me, that is saying that an acre can sustain a loss of 10-20 full grown trees per year indefinitely.

 

[LD1]

I too have heard the 1 cord per acre per year.

Rmorey, that is what a woods can sustain and STILL be a woods. Not talking clear cutting everything. The 1 cord per acre is what the woods can loose and still thrive. In the form of either cutting dead trees, blow downs, limbs, or just thinning trees that are past their prime to let younger ones thrive.

 

[ovrszd]

I too have heard the 1 cord per acre per year.

Rmorey, that is what a woods can sustain and STILL be a woods. Not talking clear cutting everything. The 1 cord per acre is what the woods can loose and still thrive. In the form of either cutting dead trees, blow downs, limbs, or just thinning trees that are past their prime to let younger ones thrive.

And even then, it would depend on type of woods. Part of mine is large oak dominate. I don't take 1 cord per year from there. On the mixed woods portion I probably cut 1 cord per year.

 

[rmorey]

Sorry, I was thinking face cord. I agree that 1 cord per year per acre is a good number, especially if you have a mixed bush, relatively immature. (10"- 15" average dia. at breast height)

That being said, this spring I took down a maple that was 28" ABH and was 70' tall. We harvested almost a full cord from that one tree. Most of our harvest is smaller, distressed or standing dead. I have very little reason to cut a live healthy tree.

 

[LD1]

We cut a tree that blew down in a few years back. Never measured it, but I'd guess ~48" DBH. With pleanty of sizable limbs too cause it was at the edge of a woods. I think we got 7 or 8 full cords out of that one tree. I'll see if I can find a pic of it somewhere.