Tree Girdling

[RonMar]

How far apart did you make the rings? Removing the bark between the chainsaw rings will help to dry out that cambium layer and keep it from feeding the tree. A hand ax should peel the bark OK, and help open up the outer layer with cuts to help it dry. I have seen it done with one chainsaw pass and then ax cuts from above down intothe saw cut, to remove the bark 3"-4" above the cut.

Nothing better than dead standing for firewood. Back when I was growing up, before naturally dead standing trees were called "habitat trees" and placed off limits as potential firewood in most national forests, that was what we went out specifically to harvest for firewood. Already dry, ready to burn that season. Easier to split and lighter to carry...

 

[TedLaRue]

There's a good bit of liquid remaining in the trunk even after you girdle it. I've seen broken off trees leaf out and try to grow. At the "green" 30% moisture content, an 8' long 2x4 could contain as much as 3 gallons of water. A large tree trunk will contain much more.

I think if you girdled a tree when it was dormant (all the sap in the roots) it would die faster than if you girdled it during the summer.

I've had meadow mice (voles) girdle 4" diameter apple trees, and they're only nibbling through the outermost bark, and it usually takes two seasons for them to die. The first summer they leaf out, but the leaves are pretty yellow and sorryful looking. The next summer it hardly leafs out at all.

 

[RonMar]

It takes years for a girdled tree to dry out. Even split wood takes quite a bit of time to season in the woodshed.

 

[Highbeam]

So since the tree is dead and the roots might start to rot, do you suppose a dead girdled tree is more likely to blow over in the winter winds and flip the stump up with it? That would be handy.

 

[SPIKER]

highbeam: usually they will BREAK OFF at the girdle point. at least that has been MY experiance. I've done probably 100+ trees this way in a pine stand (killing the mixed hardwoods and too closely spaced pines.) in this case removing them was impossible due to inter growth of upper branches. (i.e. self supporting using the other trees. I had some populars (6~10" DBH) growing up & out of the stand of pines as well as maples & oaks. I girdled the JUNK, (left some hardwoods due to straightness and value vs pines value. the stuff on the edges broke off at/around the girdle leaving a few still standing inter-hooked with the pines. eventually these will rot enough to fall though the pines causing a lot less damage vs dropping them into and pulling them out of the still standing pines..

Firewood drying it also works well, if you have little storage space (stacked space) you can leave them stand dead for a good number of years, they will dry and stay dry vs dropping them into wood stacked/bucking them leaving them in the woods bugs will eat a pile/stacked much faster than standing dead as well. I have a lot of wind/ice downed parts that I bucked 3~4 years ago in woods, that are near useless unless you have outside wood burner. then there are beetle killed trees that were dead when I bought my place still standing (elms mostly) that are dry & solid as a rock! the popular is soft after 2 seasons... and useless if bucked & left in woods 6 months...


in some cases they will rot off the roots and fall pulling stump out with it... I usually try & get them down b4 then unless there are a lot of widow makers up in tops. then it seems safer to let fall.

Mark M

 

[RonMar]

So since the tree is dead and the roots might start to rot, do you suppose a dead girdled tree is more likely to blow over in the winter winds and flip the stump up with it? That would be handy.

Like Spiker said, they usually break. The root system stays relatively in-tact and moist and retains I would think most all it's strength...

 

[Highbeam]

Rats. Always looking for an easy way to deforest.