![]() “One of the things in particular that happens in maple forests is the buildup of what we call the ‘duff layer,’ so the partially decomposed leaves, and that’s a really rich and fertile area of the forest,” says Solin. Plants shoot up from the duff layer in a maple forest. Solin also emphasizes that healthy maple trees support overall ecosystem health, starting with soil health. This also means that trees considered “undesirable” from a timber perspective-twisty trees, those with defects or burls on their trunk-are still suitable for maple syrup production. This means that producers should selectively remove or “thin” trees in the sugar bush so that maples have space to grow expansively and without competition from other trees. “The more leaf surface area that exists, the more leaves there are, the more sugar a tree will produce, the more productive it will be from a syrup standpoint.” “From a maple syrup perspective, you want large trees with big crowns,” says Solin. ![]() From a timber perspective, foresters want tall, straight trees with few branches, so trees are planted close together. And because sugar maples can live up to 350 years, they can be tapped for generations.Īnother difference between timber and sugar bush management is the desired size and spacing of trees. “We have a tree that we call a ‘grandpa tree.’ My dad remembers tapping it as a kid, and it was a huge tree then, so we’re guessing it’s more than 200 years old,” Solin says.īig, old trees like the grandpa tree can still produce a lot of sap some can even sustain two taps. He cites an example of a healthy, productive sugar maple from his family’s sugar bush in northern Wisconsin. But from a maple syrup standpoint, that’s still a valuable tree to keep.” “That’s not the full life of the tree, but slows down growing, and from a timber standpoint, the tree usually gets harvested. “From a timber standpoint, there’s an economically advantageous age where the tree peaks out,” explains Solin. One key difference between managing a sugar bush and managing a timber stand is the age of trees. “And so helping expand their understanding of what it means to manage specifically for maple syrup production is one of the goals.” “Maple syrup is a nontimber forest product-the trees stay for as long as they live-but the people who manage them or provide support on management have more background on the forest products side of things,” says Solin. One of the goals of the Maple Syrup Program is to build knowledge around these differences with foresters and other resource professionals. ![]() The management techniques that make quality, easy-to-harvest timber, however, are not the management techniques that make healthy, productive sugar bushes. This may surprise those who have visited tree farms or hiked through pine plantations where trees are planted in neat, uniform rows. “Maples are really good at naturally reproducing, and so the management that happens is more about managing the trees that are naturally there, not having to plant additional ones,” says Solin. To cultivate a productive and sustainable operation, the trees should plant themselves. His response sounds like the punchline to a riddle: None. It’s a question that Jeremy Solin, coordinator of the newly launched Extension Maple Syrup Program, gets often from those eager to turn sap into syrup. “How many maple trees should I plant in my sugar bush?” Jeremy Solin, coordinator of the Extension Maple Syrup Program, drills a tap into a maple tree.
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