The American Beech tree is a deciduous hardwood, which produces strong timber and valuable mast in the form of beech nuts. For the sake of this article, the production of this tree for timber will be excluded; as it is a slow-growing tree, at less than 12" in crown growth per year, with a stumpage value of a mere $50 per MBF, making it an unfavorable timber species, although it makes a great fuel wood. That said, beech nuts are a highly valuable fall mast crop, attracting a wide variety of game species from ruffed grouse to black bear, and everything in between.
Managing Beech trees is purely a decision regarding the economic goals of the landowner. Beech should not be considered a highly valuable timber species, but it is of great value to wildlife. Choosing between other mast producers, Beech would be at the bottom of the list; comparable to White Oak in growth rate; with a smaller mast yield and timber that is worth a third of that of White Oak (which is, in turn, a third as valuable as Red Oak and Black Cherry). Thus, if a property has a strong White Oak representation; it would be best to remove the Beech to help release the White Oak, encouraging more natural regeneration. The same goes for Red Oak and Black Cherry, considering their fast growth rates and high timber values. However, on a property overrun by Beech trees; it would be of the best interest of the landowner to retain the species; perform some pre-commercial thinnings to remove the trees of little value and then replant the released land with some commercially-valuable, mast-producing species.
The one main benefit, and also danger, of American Beech is it's shade tolerance. Being much more shade tolerant than other species; it is a great successional planting, providing great cover to wildlife in its younger age. However, it can also become disastrous if not managed properly; as it can consume an entire forest floor, meaning if there are valuable timber species growing and regenerating alongside Beech, they will likely be choked out by the lack of sunlight and competition for nutrients. That means that once the valuable sawlog-sized species are removed, one could end up with natural regeneration of low-value, slow growing Beech. Another drawback to this situation is the shallow root system of Beech trees, which will undoubtedly reduce the moisture available to species with deeper root systems.
That all said, American Beech would be a very niche tree; only allowed if it makes up a large portion of the species composition. Otherwise; one would be better to opt for other, more valuable mast producers, as they would allow for a more balanced long-term species composition, while creating more value from a timber production perspective.
Timber Rating: D
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