•
Reasons to Clear Cedar and Restore Your Land
It is well known
and undisputable that the Ashe Juniper is overtaking the
Hill Country. Is this necessarily bad?
The treešs water
consumption is the most cited and dramatic reason that it
is indeed not a good thing. Educated people disagree on
the specifics of this problem, and no claims will be made
here about how many thousands of gallons of water are wasted
by each tree, but it is significant.
Water consumption
is not the only reason to discourage the overpopulation
of Cedar. Look at a pasture that is being overgrown with
Cedar. Native grasses are being killed out, which greatly
increases erosion. Also this is reducing the native habitat
and food source for many species of wildlife. Everyone is
familiar with Cedar competing with Oaks, but several cases
near here will demonstrate Cedar killing huge old Pecan
trees by out competing for water.
Selective clearing
can open areas for grasses and other species of trees. Also
it can open hunting areas, clear fence lines, open up view
corridors, or just make a piece of land usable again for
walking, horseback riding, or grazing. Land that is not
overgrown is more valuable for sale also.
Land restoration
includes selectively clearing the Cedar, leaving any old
growth trees that may be present and smaller specimens for
privacy or wildlife cover. The mulch created by Hydro Axing
acts as a band-aid to the ground immediately reducing erosion,
and retaining moisture. A Hydro Ax (hydraulic ax) is a piece
of machinery that can be thought of as a lawnmower on steroids.
It will literally mow a tree up to twelve inches in diameter
creating course mulch. During the process a native grass
seed mix can be broadcast before the mulch has a chance
to settle. This gives a good cover for the grasses to become
established. This process is easy to complete and affordable
and will benefit the land, its owners, and wildlife for
years to come. Only small maintenance every several years
will be required to keep the Cedar from returning. The mulched
trees will not come back, but there will be some seeds in
the ground. A few seedlings will come up and can be trimmed
with clippers or a lawnmower.
There can be
other benefits to land restoration as well. This is the
time of year to plant wild flowers! We are adding wild flower
seed to the native grass seed on several jobs now and can
hardly wait to see the results next spring.
