Forest
Stewardship News Release
October 22, 2003 - For Immediate Release
Contact: Rance Harmon, Phone: (814) 863-0401 E-mail: rsh144@psu.edu
Finding
Fuel For Firewood
It may be too late to cut wood for the fireplace this year, but it's just
the right time to prepare for next winter. "You always want to split
and then dry your wood a full year," says Mike Powell, senior research
technologist for Penn State's School of Forest Resources. So before the
leaves fall, woodland owners are walking through their woods and selecting
those trees that will become next year's firewood.
A good firewood tree is not necessarily the straightest and tallest tree in the forest. Powell suggests choosing trees with crooked stems, ruptured bark, or broken crowns. The healthiest trees should be left behind to increase the future value of the woodlot. "Especially if you want to manage for timber, you don't want to cut straight trees," he says. Powell also suggests avoiding trees that are difficult to split by hand, like black gum and elm. Nevertheless, leaving too many of the same species may lead to competition with more desirable trees, says Jim Finley, professor of forest resources at Penn State.
Which species make the best firewood "depends on preference," Powell says. All hardwoods, or deciduous trees, have some value as firewood. "Yellow poplar, willow, and cottonwood generate the least amount of heat and won't last as long as an oak would. Lower-quality oaks like scarlet and pin make good firewood trees." Locust burns longest and generates the most heat because its wood is the densest per unit volume.
According to Finley, many people choose to cut dead trees for firewood because they believe that the wood is dry, but this is a fallacy. Finley explains how dead trees benefit the forest, "They slowly return nutrients to the soil, serve as seedbeds for some plants, and provide habitat for important insects, amphibians, and other animals. You want to retain both standing and fallen dead trees-the bigger the better."
Felling trees is dangerous. Finley cautions against felling trees with vines in the stem or crown, which may present a safety hazard. And if a log is covered in vines, homeowners beware; this may be poison ivy. Landowners who lack experience with a chainsaw should hire a professional to cut their trees, says Powell. "There are a lot of things that can happen if you don't have the proper training and the proper equipment. People think that because they can buy a chainsaw that they know how to use it."
For more information, request a free copy of Managing Your Woodlot for Firewood by the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service. Contact the Pennsylvania Forest Stewardship Program for this or other free publications: 1-800-235-WISE (toll free); RNRext@psu.edu; Forest Stewardship Program, Forest Resources Extension, The Pennsylvania State University, 320 Forest Resources Building, University Park, PA 16802. To see the entire "Heating with Wood Series" by the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service visit their website http://pearl.agcomm.okstate.edu/forestry/heating/ or http://www.osuextra.com.
The Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry and USDA Forest Service, in partnership with the Penn State's Forest Resources Extension, sponsor the Forest Stewardship Program in Pennsylvania.
