White Oak (Quercus alba) is one of the most well-known wildlife magnets. A relative to the valuable Red Oak; White Oak is less valuable as timber (especially considering its slow growth rate, which greatly reduces the annualized return), but highly desired from a game management standpoint. Because of its lower tannin content; White Oak acorns are not as bitter tasting as Red Oak, making them highly palatable to wildlife, including bear, deer, and turkey. While tannins can reduce the digestibility of protein; species such as Whitetail Deer have adapted to this by producing compounds in their saliva that binds to tannins; ultimately reducing their effectiveness.
However, White Oak does have a few important drawbacks relative to Red Oak from a game management perspective. Most importantly, white oak is a rather inconsistent producer of acorns; producing large crops once every three to five years, with low yields during the remaining years. Further, while White Oak is more palatable; Red Oak contains upwards of four times the fat content of white oak acorns, which is highly important in northern climates where wildlife require substantial fat reserves to carry them through the winter. For these reasons; the recommended ratio is , at most, one White Oak tree for every three Red Oaks, which will allow for consistent yields of nutritious hard mast, while still providing game managers and hunters .
White Oak can be a very important part of managing wildlife in timber land, as a small population of White Oak trees can provide game managers and hunters a valuable edge in scouting and, ultimately, harvesting wildlife. Locating White Oak trees is a great management tool; as concentrations of wildlife will likely be high in these areas during heavy yielding years. I'd prefer to have a small number of White Oak trees within a large Red Oak grove over a White Oak grove, for the simple reason that game will seek out the White Oaks, making locating game easier; in a White Oak-only grove, game will have no reason to congregate to any given area.
Managing White Oak for game management is a matter of optimizing mast production. To do so, White Oak trees should be afforded ample room to develop large canopies; which will result in larger, more predictable acorn crops. Releasing White Oak trees by thinning areas surrounding these trees is the easiest way to do this in an already-established forest. This thinning will have the added benefit of encouraging natural regeneration; which will provide valuable browse for wildlife during hard winter months.
Planting White Oak is simple; one can purchase quality stock from a reputable supplier if budget is of no concern. If budget is of a concern, collecting acorns from large, disease-free, well-formed White Oaks can be an easy way to establish new trees. White Oak acorns do not require a period of stratification (cold-exposure) to germinate, meaning acorns can be planted in the fall as the crop falls from the canopy. The only drawback to planting acorns is that small mammals will typically dig up and consume the majority of the planted acorns; one can plan on planting acorns in quantities three to five times the desired number of trees to account for this. However, there is no reason to be concerned about transplant shock with this method, which would be significant if one was to spend money in planting purchased seedlings; especially considering their relatively low value as timber. If you are looking to speed up the acorn yield time, which is typically approximately 20 years after planting for regular planting stock; one should consider genetically superior trees, such as those offered by Advanced Tree Technologies. These trees have recorded caliper growth of upwards of 0.8" per year; very impressive for a notoriously slow-grower. Such growth would encourage acorn yields to begin years ahead of schedule. This may be a great option for those who have no White Oak currently present on their land.
However, White Oak does have a few important drawbacks relative to Red Oak from a game management perspective. Most importantly, white oak is a rather inconsistent producer of acorns; producing large crops once every three to five years, with low yields during the remaining years. Further, while White Oak is more palatable; Red Oak contains upwards of four times the fat content of white oak acorns, which is highly important in northern climates where wildlife require substantial fat reserves to carry them through the winter. For these reasons; the recommended ratio is , at most, one White Oak tree for every three Red Oaks, which will allow for consistent yields of nutritious hard mast, while still providing game managers and hunters .
White Oak can be a very important part of managing wildlife in timber land, as a small population of White Oak trees can provide game managers and hunters a valuable edge in scouting and, ultimately, harvesting wildlife. Locating White Oak trees is a great management tool; as concentrations of wildlife will likely be high in these areas during heavy yielding years. I'd prefer to have a small number of White Oak trees within a large Red Oak grove over a White Oak grove, for the simple reason that game will seek out the White Oaks, making locating game easier; in a White Oak-only grove, game will have no reason to congregate to any given area.
Managing White Oak for game management is a matter of optimizing mast production. To do so, White Oak trees should be afforded ample room to develop large canopies; which will result in larger, more predictable acorn crops. Releasing White Oak trees by thinning areas surrounding these trees is the easiest way to do this in an already-established forest. This thinning will have the added benefit of encouraging natural regeneration; which will provide valuable browse for wildlife during hard winter months.
Planting White Oak is simple; one can purchase quality stock from a reputable supplier if budget is of no concern. If budget is of a concern, collecting acorns from large, disease-free, well-formed White Oaks can be an easy way to establish new trees. White Oak acorns do not require a period of stratification (cold-exposure) to germinate, meaning acorns can be planted in the fall as the crop falls from the canopy. The only drawback to planting acorns is that small mammals will typically dig up and consume the majority of the planted acorns; one can plan on planting acorns in quantities three to five times the desired number of trees to account for this. However, there is no reason to be concerned about transplant shock with this method, which would be significant if one was to spend money in planting purchased seedlings; especially considering their relatively low value as timber. If you are looking to speed up the acorn yield time, which is typically approximately 20 years after planting for regular planting stock; one should consider genetically superior trees, such as those offered by Advanced Tree Technologies. These trees have recorded caliper growth of upwards of 0.8" per year; very impressive for a notoriously slow-grower. Such growth would encourage acorn yields to begin years ahead of schedule. This may be a great option for those who have no White Oak currently present on their land.
Timber Rating (non-genetically enhanced): C
Timber Rating (genetically enhanced): B
Mast Rating: A+
Overall Rating (non-genetically enhanced): B
Overall Rating (genetically enhanced): A
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