Oak Savannas

[dbltree]

What is an oak savanna?

A savanna is generally defined as a plant community where trees are a component but where their density is "...so low that it allows grasses and other herbaceous vegetation to become the actual dominants of the community.

I live literally in the middle of stand of savanna oaks that are some where between 150 and 300 years old, exact ages are difficult without killing the tree of course but most of mine are roughly 200-250 years old.

I wake up each morning to these beautiful trees :way:

and watch the sun set behind them every evening

An oak savanna consists of open grown oaks (not grown in a forest) and native grass and forbs, so in some ways it becomes a beautiful combination of timber and native warm season grass. This combination then provides a natural source of food and cover and is especially attractive to deer and turkeys and a host of other wildlife and birds including quail.

Farming and timbering all but destroyed the natural oak savannas that once covered much of the Midwest and lower great lakes areas with less then .01% remaining. Remaining oak savannas can be restored and new ones created however and I am excited about restoring mine!

One key element of an Oak Savanna is fire...it is crucial to both maintain the native grass and forbs but to control shade tolerant tree species. Oaks are fire tolerant as are the NWSG and forbs and without fire the whole process is difficult to complete.

The area I have chosen to restore is surrounded on three sides by crop fields and totally hidden far from roads so wildlife can be safe, comfortable and unmolested.

This thread will allow everyone to follow my restoration and share the proper and safe use of fire as a tool and even if you have no interest in savannas themselves, you will find many components usable in your own habitat projects.

In my case not only am I blessed with huge savanna oaks but also totally wild remnant populations of native grass and forbs so I will attempt to restore mine without bringing in any new seed or trees.

The big burr and white oaks will eventually be reunited with native prairie rather then hickory and elms

Keep in mind however that it is certainly possible to start with a piece of ground and add both oaks and native grass and literally build a savanna from the ground up.

Why have a savanna?

Beside the fact that they are totally cool...savannas provide a unique source of food and cover that is extremely attractive to whitetails and turkeys. Once released the big oaks drop buckets of sweet plump acorns and the forbs in the native stands are eagerly sought after by deer.

The grasses provide both fawning and general bedding cover and turkeys utilize it for poult rearing and love to roost in the big sprawling limbs of the savanna oaks.

Cost share is available in many cases as well as technical help through the USFWS and I recently spent time with Gregg Pattison who gave me advice and will be sending me the appropriate paperwork.

Here is his contact info.

Gregg Pattison
USFWS - Iowa Private Lands Office
Science and Math Room 123
1 University Place
Lamoni, Iowa 50140
Office: (641) 784-5356
Cell: (515) 979-5768
Fax: (641) 784-5054

I hope you will follow along as I restore mine and perhaps gain some knowledge that will help you improve your own habitat and possibly spur interest in building or restoring some oak savanna.

The area looked like this before I got out the chainsaw

and after being cleared of everything but young burr oaks...it's starting to look like this

Unlike hinge cutting which is relatively easy, these trees are being cut of at the stump, treated with Tordon and eventually cut up and removed

Be careful where you park the tractor!

Periodic timely burns to remove leaf litter, discourage invasives and encourage oak seedlings and native grasses to return...will be done with the help of a backpack leaf blower.

BR 550 Backpack Blower

Below are links to great information about oak savannas and pictures that will make you want to get started on yours today!

Oak Savannas

Savanna Oak

Oak Savanna Communities

Planning Oak Savannas

Oak Savanna Conference

Savanna Ecosystems

OAK SAVANNA RESTORATION TECHNIQUES

The Iowa Burr Oak Savanna Project

Whiterock Conservancy Oak Savanna Restoration

Restoration and Maintenance of Oak Savannas

SUCCESSION-BASED RESTORATION OF OAK SAVANNA

 

[tlambert]

Good thread Paul. I've got some recent experience with Oak Savanna's. My parent's land in WI borders a military reservation that is big on Oak Savannas. I never really minded them because they were out in the middle of their property and actually worked as they were supposed to. Two years ago they decided they were going to convert the oak timber areas on both sides of the road by my parent's into oak savanna's. They cut out all but the biggest oaks and it went from not being able to see 30yds into the timber to being able to see for as far as you'd like. Problem being, that this property is on both sides of a public black top road. Now the late summer and fall nights are lit up by spotlighters non-stop and the sounds of crickets and toads have turned into gunshots! Moral of the story, make sure you choose the spot wisely if you're going to create this sort of wildlife paradise. Guess I just needed to vent once again...

 

[letemgrow]

Great stuff Paul!! It is my opinion that oak savannah's can be a bounty for lots of wildlife. Oaks that are released can produce more hard mast, a high diversity of forbes and grasses that appeal to deer, turkey quail, and tons of bugs for bugging. A very good type of property to have some of.

 

[AZHunter]

Have nomex, will travel! Would love to help you put fire to that! I applied for Gregg's job a few years ago. I've heard he is good to work with. I'm going to bug him about a fire detail up there so maybe I'll get to help burn your land afterall! Can't wait to follow your progress!

 

[dbltree]

make sure you choose the spot wisely if you're going to create this sort of wildlife paradise.

Extremely important when choosing to restore or start an oak savanna!!

That's why I chose a hidden area far from roads for mine and keep other areas in "thick and nasty" habitat...which still allows for release of the big oaks by the way and I'll share more on that as well. :way:

 

[FarmlandQDM]

Great post Paul ... you know I have been a big advocate of bringing back fire to Iowa's timber for many years. It provides the best well balanced, year long food plot that I know of but most people overlook fire as a food plot tool.

One caution I would give though ... if you have a few scattered large oaks in your stand that you don't want to risk killing with fire, take some extra time and remove the fuel load around the base of these trees. If there are old logs, brushpiles, or excessive leaf litter piled up at the base of these trees and the conditions are right, they can catch fire and burn which sometimes will kill the tree. Old logging scars at the base of trees also provide a great foothold for fire to start. The bark structure of mature oaks make them very fire resistant but they are not fire proof. It would be pretty dishartening for someone to try a timber burn for the first time and end up killing some of the trees they were trying to manage for ... especially if those trees took 200 years to get there.

If you are curious about the age of those trees you have, buy an increment borer which will give you the exact age of any tree up to about 30 inches in diameter without harming the tree. Bigger than that and you will have to guess but those large mature oaks are typically about the same age within each stand. Usually the size difference of mature oaks has more to do with environmental factors and genetics than time.

 

[dbltree]

One caution I would give though ... if you have a few scattered large oaks in your stand that you don't want to risk killing with fire, take some extra time and remove the fuel load around the base of these trees. If there are old logs, brushpiles, or excessive leaf litter piled up at the base of these trees and the conditions are right, they can catch fire and burn which sometimes will kill the tree. Old logging scars at the base of trees also provide a great foothold for fire to start. The bark structure of mature oaks make them very fire resistant but they are not fire proof. It would be pretty dishartening for someone to try a timber burn for the first time and end up killing some of the trees they were trying to manage for ... especially if those trees took 200 years to get there.

Good advice Rob and I will be sure to clear junk away from the big oaks before burning...:way:

 

[dbltree]

Few more pics from my oak savanna restoration project...lot of firewood for my son to cut up!

Here's a young open grown savanna burr oak...notice the lower limb growth

and a few that are being released as I clear cut the junk...I'll have to cull some that are too close to each other later. These are tall and straight as they competed with other trees to reach sunlight but now will grow faster and produce acorns quicker.

Remnant prairie growing along the edge

I think the prairie aspect of this will prove interesting to many even if the oak savanna is not simply because of restoring it and how a wild native prairie mainfests itself.

Gregg from the USFWS agreed that frost/dormant seeding is the natural way to seed all native grass and wildflowers since it's been spread that way for eons. He prefers not to have to tear anything up or disturb the soil and use burning and if necesary broadcasting of native seeds in late winter to re-establish prairie in the oak savanna.

Looking forward to spring now and with every sunset the big oaks are crying out...set me free!

 

[letemgrow]

I like seeing those remnant native grasses!!

IF you end up with an abundance of remnant natives, I know a guy that wants some seeds!!!!!

 

[tlambert]

Looking good Paul. Interesting thread for sure!

 

[IQDM]

This is awesome! now I have another spring project to work on!
A couple of questions for you.... You mentioned a backpack blower... what is that for?
and what if the larger oaks are somewhat close together and do a significant amount of shadding? is there any native grasses that preform better in shaded areas? or do I have to cut down some of the big oaks to make more light available?

 

[droptine37]

Great topic and discussion. I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with the continious crp program called declining and critical habitat crp that focuses on establishing oak savannas. I am not sure if your involved with this program or not dbltree? If anyone has had experience with this program I was wondering where you purchased your trees and what they cost? The program requires trees of at least 1/2 inch caliper or 3 feet tall. I was also wondering if any landowner that has participated in this program if the biologist gave you the choice of what percentage of canopy cover your tree planted acres would be? I know the definition of an oak savanna is anywhere from 10-50% canopy. Thanks for all the great links DblTree. I found a ton of useful info on those websites.

 

[dgallow]

Backpack blowers are usefull for many habitat projects, esp for creating bare earth fire breaks in leaf laden forest floor, actual fire fighting by moving errant fire and fuel back into burn unit, creating a fuel free buffer around crop trees or tall dead snags, clearing leaf clutter in late winter from wooded plots, etc.

Our 'burn plan' came in the mail from the Noble Foundation last week and there are a few important points I'd like to share here.

Point 1....before engaging in control burns attend a burn workshop/seminar for 'basic how to' and then work under a burn boss to gain 'experience'. Eventually you will be the 'fire boss' and responsible/liable for your actions! You may also gain some precious help in the process!

Point 2....fell all standing dead snags within 50 yards of fire breaks. They term these snags 'roman candles'....when fire reachs 20-30' up a dead snag the potential for an ember to escape your burn unit is very high.

From experience, the 'roman candles' which pose the greatest threat are hollow dead trees. Various forest critters are bad to pack these with leaves twigs etc which are very dry and highly ignitable. Once fire enters the hollow portion of the tree it can ignite the dry material and send up to a 15' whiling fire out the 'chimney' at the top. For this reason, all dead hollow trees shuld be felled in the whole unit.

Point 3....move all 'slash' from the edge of the break to 30 yards inside the burn unit. Slash is stuff like fallen tops, dozer piles, ice storm damage, rotten stumps, any cedars, ect. If the item is too large to move, use your blower to create a bare earth break around it. The last thing wants is 'high fuel' on the edge.

Point 4....large cedars should either be felled or have the lower limbs trimmed to about 5-6' high. If large cedars catch fire you will have a fire thrust that may send embers outside of your burn unit. Most 'bushy' type cedars under 5' tall will be killed by your fire...protect if you want or let them burn.

I will add this....Green briar or various other dense climbing vines can create the same effect as large cedar if they remain at canopy level. It's a very good idea to hinge the tree suporting the vines before burning. The root reserves of green briar will allow it to grow after burning with lush new growth at deer level! :way:

 

[IQDM]

is there any native grasses that preform better in shaded areas? or do I have to cut down some of the big oaks to make more light available?

Due to the excelent weather we are having here in Wisconsin I have started my Oak Savanna project and hope to have it done by friday when the rain/snow comes! I was wondering what the prefered grass to plant in my oak savanna would be?

 

[dbltree]

Due to the excelent weather we are having here in Wisconsin I have started my Oak Savanna project and hope to have it done by friday when the rain/snow comes! I was wondering what the prefered grass to plant in my oak savanna would be?

I think most natives will do fairly well but Little Bluestem is one that does very well. It's helpful to burn in late fall to remove leaf cover and then frost seed the natives but you could still burn asap and sow fluffies this spring via broadcasting or no-till drilling.

Savannas should be fairly open so the only shade will be directly under the oaks and even then most areas will recieve partial sunshine thruout the day...:way:

 

[FarmlandQDM]

if the larger oaks are somewhat close together and do a significant amount of shadding? is there any native grasses that preform better in shaded areas? or do I have to cut down some of the big oaks to make more light available?

Try Virginia Wild Rye, it is a common native grass that thrives in shaded river bottoms but it will grow in upland timber too.

 

[FarmlandQDM]

From experience, the 'roman candles' which pose the greatest threat are hollow dead trees. Various forest critters are bad to pack these with leaves twigs etc which are very dry and highly ignitable. Once fire enters the hollow portion of the tree it can ignite the dry material and send up to a 15' whiling fire out the 'chimney' at the top. For this reason, all dead hollow trees shuld be felled in the whole unit.

You brought up some excellent points dgallow. Standing hollow snags can be very dangerous, and provide plenty of excitement when you are falling them after they have caught fire, but I would hate to see all the dead hollow snags cut out of a burn unit. Many animals depend on those standing hallow snags and it would be very poor forest management to remove all of these trees within a burn unit. A better suggestion would be to spend the extra time it takes to rake the litter away from the snags to prevent them from catching fire. A two or three foot ring of exposed mineral soil should keep them from burning. Iowa timber does not burn like western forestlands and just a small amount of effort is usually enough to protect individual trees, even standing hallow snags.

 

[dgallow]

Great point! Protecting them by removing clutter with a blower or forestry rake would work. I'd still remove those within 50 yds of a break just like for solid dead snags. Liability vs wildlife benefit should always be weighed before burning considering todays 'sue happy' society.

The big picture to keep in mind is that only about 30% max of the property should be burned. Try to select sites with good soil. 5-10 acre blocks work well and can be rotated in burn cycle/frequency. The Noble Foundation reports a 2 to 4X increase in summer deer food in response to burning. So for 10 ac, 3000 to 6000 lb of warm season deer food could be provided as compared to 1500 lb for unmanaged canopied timber.

Burning isn't for everyone or every property. There are other 'old field management techniques' applicable to savanas with scattered oak coverage. Light strip discing in late fall or winter or August 1 mowing as an example. If you mow NWSG and wish to maintain stand density, just be sure to leave enough time for root reserves to replenish before frost.
http://efotg.nrcs.usda.gov/references/public/VT/JS647VT_OldField_FillableForm.pdf

http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/Portals/9/pdf/pub393.pdf

The June or so 2007 edition of QDMA magazine has an 'Old-Field Management' article which lists CP content of some forbs.....pokeweed was 30% and can remember asters being decent as well. That pdf link has been moved and appears lost in bytedom. :thrwrck:

 

[dbltree]

Spent some more time clearing the oak savanna... :way:

leaving all the burr oaks and then after I've cleared everything else I'll evaluate the oaks themselves and cull those that are too close to each other.

Before...

After... darn things just wouldn't tip over even after cutting them clean off!

One way to fix that!

Starting to see some "daylight" around the young oaks...

I worked along time on this and doesn't look like I did a doggone thing from this pic! :thrwrck:

Clearing around the baby burr oaks...

Most still have their leaves this time of year

The native grass remnants are showing up in little openings...can't wait to "light" the place up!

Only the top of the big savannas are visable from the "hidey hole"...perfect for save unmolested wildlife activity in the savanna...

My "assistants"...

 

[letemgrow]

Great work Paul!! It will be neat to see what native forbes and grasses were just waiting there for some light and heat to assist their growth.