Forest Renewal
If your woods are healthy, the life cycle is balanced: you have some dying, dead or decaying trees, and you have enough young trees to replace them and renew the forest.
To assess your forest’s renewal, you’ll need to measure the number of snags (standing dead trees), decaying logs or branches, and seedlings you have.
Snags and Decaying Debris
The presence of dead standing and decaying trees is actually a good sign—it shows you have a mix of ages on your land, and it provides animal habitat, nutrient cycling and stable soils.
When assessing your woods, count the number of snags and the number of live trees, and calculate the percentage of standing trees that are snags.
| If fewer than 5 percent of standing trees are snags | Your forest is not as healthy as it could be. You may want to plan—and plant—for a more mixed-age stand. |
| If 5 to 10 percent of standing trees are snags | Usually indicates fair forest health. |
| If more than 10 percent of standing trees are snags | Means you have a healthy, sustainable forest. |
Now count the number of dead logs and downed branches that are more than 4 inches in diameter and more than 39 inches long. This is considered “coarse woody debris.”
| If fewer than 5 percent of your forest floor debris is coarse woody debris | May be an indication of poor forest health. |
| If 5 to 15 percent is coarse woody debris | Indicates fair health. |
| If more than 15 percent is coarse woody debris | It is a sign of a healthy forest |
Regeneration
Using a tape measure and string, divide your land into 9 equal-sized sections. Now check each section for seedlings that are at least 12 inches tall (if it’s a conifer) or 39 inches tall (if it’s a deciduous tree). Make sure the seedlings are healthy—that means no apparent damage on the leaves or stems.
Mark down the number of sections that have at least one healthy seedling. Then divide that number by the total number of sections and multiply by 100.
| If less than 33 percent of the sections have at least one healthy seedling | Your regeneration may be insufficient and your forest may not be healthy. |
| If 33 to 66 percent of the sections have at least one healthy seedling | Is a sign of fair forest health. |
| If more than 66 percent of the sections have at least one healthy seedling | It is a sign that regeneration is underway and your woods are healthy. |
You can encourage regeneration by selectively harvesting and thinning or using prescribed burns and other forest management activities to keep your stands open. When woods are relatively sparse and sunny, new trees can grow.
As you’ve seen in this section, every aspect of your forest’s health is tied to every other. By keeping each piece—from your soil and water conservation to your regeneration rates—healthy and active, your woods stay healthy and active too.
Find out more
For help assessing and supporting the health of your woods, consult with
*contains information adapted from the Project Learning Tree Secondary Grades 9-12 Module Focus on Forests
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