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	<a href="../toc.htm">Table of Contents</a>  >>&nbsp;<a href="6-6.htm">6.6 Temporary Openings Created by Forest Management</a> <<   6.7 Aspen Management  >> <a href="6-8.htm">6.8 Beaver-Created Openings</a> </div>
<h2><strong>6.7 ASPEN MANAGEMENT</strong></h2>
<h3><strong>BACKGROUND</strong></h3>
<p style="font-weight: bold">Aspen  (also known as poplar or popple) stands are the preferred habitat for  ruffed grouse, woodcock, Nashville  warbler, beaver and other wildlife.</p>
<p>Although aspen is one of the most  widely distributed forest types in North America,  it is relatively uncommon in New    Hampshire covering approximately 2 percent of the  state's forest area. Aspen,  including trembling aspen and big-toothed aspen, occurs  chiefly as a &quot;pioneer&quot; forest type, often growing in close  association with white birch. Pioneer types are the first to colonize disturbed  areas such as burns and field edges. Big-toothed and trembling aspen are  extremely intolerant of shade. They need full sunlight to grow. Disturbances  such as fire or clearcutting are needed to regenerate shade-intolerant species  such as aspen and white birch. In the absence of disturbance, aspen is replaced  by more shade-tolerant trees, e.g., spruce, fir, white pine, or northern  hardwoods.</p>
<h3><strong>OBJECTIVE</strong></h3>
<p style="font-weight: bold">Maintain or expand the aspen type to enhance  wildlife habitat diversity.</p>
<h3><strong>CONSIDERATIONS</strong></h3>
<ul>
  <li>Aspen seed is extremely small and light. It can  be blown long distances but requires exposed mineral soil for successful  germination.</li>
  <li>Aspen  typically regenerates by root-suckering. When an area containing aspen is  clearcut, dormant buds on the roots sprout, often producing several thousand  suckers per acre. Because they have an established root system, the suckers  (collectively called a clone) may grow 4 feet or more the first year.</li>
  <li>All flowers on an individual tree are the same  sex. Male aspens have larger buds and provide more valuable food for ruffed  grouse.</li>
  <li>Trembling aspen stands reach maturity and begin  to deteriorate at about 40 years old, though deterioration may begin at age 30  on poor sites or age 50+ on good sites. At maturity, aspen trees are generally  10 to 16 inches in diameter at breast height, depending on the quality of the  site. Big-toothed aspen grows longer and larger than trembling aspen.</li>
  <li>Once aspen is gone, it is difficult to get it  back, requiring cutting aspens to regenerate aspen from root suckers.</li>
  <li>A number of insects and diseases attack aspen.  The only feasible method of dealing with them is to keep aspen stands vigorous  by harvesting them at an appropriate rotation age.</li>
  <li>Aspen stands managed as feeding and nesting  cover for woodcock or grouse are often 1 to 5 acres. Aspen openings as large as  10 to 20 acres are valuable for other early successional songbirds and mammals.</li>
  <li>Older and overmature aspen provide potential  nest sites for pileated woodpeckers and other cavity nesters.</li>
</ul>
<h3><strong>RECOMMENDED PRACTICES</strong></h3>
<ul>
  <li>To regenerate aspen when a stand has at least 10  to 20 square feet of basal area per acre of aspen:</li>
  <ul>
    <li>Harvest stands before the trees mature and begin  to decline in vigor. Fast-growing, pole-sized trees sprout more vigorously than  older, slower-growing trees.</li>
    <li>Create openings with a diameter at least 1&frac12;  times as large as the height of surrounding trees to allow sunlight to reach  the ground.</li>
    <li>Clearcut nearly all of the stand; ideally, cut all  stems 1-inch diameter and greater to ensure direct sunlight and to stimulate  the best root-suckering response. The number of root-suckers is directly  proportional to the number of aspen stems removed.</li>
    <li>Cut aspen when dormant (late autumn through  early spring), and avoid disturbance to aspen roots to maximize the density of  root-suckers.</li>
  </ul>
  <li>To increase aspen where it occurs in very small  groups or as individual trees mixed with other species such as growing along  old woods roads, skid trails, and landings:</li>
  <ul>
    <li>Locate openings following the above  recommendations, so as to cut some, but not all of the aspens.</li>
    <li>To maximize sunlight and heat exposure to roots  and root-suckers, locate openings southwest of the aspens that are kept.</li>
    <li>Expand these openings in subsequent harvests.</li>
  </ul>
  <li>Establishing aspen where none exists is more  difficult and may require site preparation to enhance the germination and  survival of seedlings.</li>
  <li>Where possible, retain downed logs at least 12  inches in diameter for ruffed grouse drumming.</li>
</ul>
<h3><strong>CROSS REFERENCES</strong></h3>
<p>2.1 New Hampshire Forest  Types; 2.3 Regeneration Methods; 5.1 Insects and Diseases; 6.4 Overstory  Inclusions; 6.6 Temporary Openings Created by Forest  Management; 6.8 Beaver-Created Openings.</p>
<h3><strong>ADDITIONAL INFORMATION</strong></h3>
<p>DeGraaf, R., M. Yamasaki, W. B.  Leak, and A. M. Lester. 2006. <span style="font-style: italic">Technical Guide to Forest  Wildlife Habitat Management in New England</span>.  University of Vermont Press and University Press of New England, Burlington,   Vt. 305 p.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Vermont Fish and Wildlife   Dept. 1986. <span style="font-style: italic">Model habitat guidelines for deer, bear, hare,  grouse, turkey, woodcock and non-game wildlife</span>. The Leahy Press, Montpelier, Vt.  64 p.</p>
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