TOPIC: Forest fire recovery???

Hey folks,

I've been lurking in the background for many months, joined as a member around a month ago, but now I actually have a question that I've not seen covered.

I bought and moved to a small mountain-side in Grainger County, Tennessee, around an hour from Middlesboro, Kentucky. There had been a forest fire here several years ago, which burned nearly everything up. A few large trees made it, but they are widely scattered.

Currently, the young trees are mostly hardwood, and they range 20 to 30 feet high, quite close together, and provide a lot of shade. There is a lot more underbrush here than in the mature forest down the road, but I've not yet been able to find any ginseng on this property (plenty in surrounding mature forest).

Can ginseng survive a complete forest burnout (like 50 acres burned)? I know that it is a surprise that some of the large trees made it, but they are badly scarred, and many of them have since fallen. In fact, the base of the trunk of almost all of the remaining large trees looks like somebody took half or more out of one side, leaving most of them standing for what I'm sure is only a few more years, or one big windstorm.

It is a SSE (South-SouthEast) facing slope, which I know is not ideal, but the surrounding SSE slopes of mature trees have almost as much ginseng as the NE slopes, so I'm fairly sure that ginseng WAS here, I just don't know if it could have survived the fire and is remaining dormant, or if it is smoked and I just need to replant on the eastern-most slopes I can (which I'm doing anyway).

Thanks for any constructive criticism, as well as any sarcasm or wit (Whitjr??? anyone???).

Shawn

P.S. I don't smoke any herb, but if I did, I'd smoke ginseng. =P

I hunt where fire went through a hundred years ago, a big area. The plants are protected by the ground and heat rising, but I would look for other root plants that might survive, that would tell you if the fire actually did damage that type of plant.

I went thru a Place the other day Where it wasn't Burned it was Absolutely Covered in send.even the Places that was Burned had Cohosh and Wild Yam all over it but seemed too dry for seng to grow.the Shade just wasnt right

Welcome to the forum!

During my deeps woods hikes -sometimes in in areas that have experienced fires as you mention- I see definate growth and recovey. Most recently, on the west rim of the Linville gorge here in NC. [A favorite haunt of mine] The understory gets wiped out, leaving the established trees. It's a real disaster for the all understory plants, small seedling/saplings. However the forest is used to these sort of cyclic fires, and really bounces back in a glactically slow sort of way. Established trees do well, even in intense fires. the brush underneath gets cleared out in the burn, and the next two years the understory is in recession... however after that seems to grow intenesly. As you mentioned, some older trees are going to fall a few years later, however even ones w/ blackened trunks seem to last for a long time.

You don't say exactly how many years ago the fire was, however it seems that from your commentary that your land is well past the initial couple of years post fire. I'm thinking that you have some real intense growth of understory by now.

Please remember that for a hardwood tree in a mountain forest enviroment will take 20+ years to get to the heights you mention for the younger trees. These should provide for adequite shade. I'd got out at the height of the daily sun-time and gauge the amount of shade. That will tell ya how much shade you have for your endeavor w/ sang.
Aanother good example from the recent fires just west of the forest service road off of the Linville gorge is that the maidenhair ferns came back in the FIRST season post fire.

Get multiple soil samples, no real substitute for reeally knowing what in the ground.

Good luck!

It's hard for me to imagine seng doing well on S-SE facing slopes.

Not a lot of hillsides that face due east here (Middle TN) have seng on them (unless below a rock bluff or very steep hillside).

North-east is usually good, but due north is best for us.

Our evening sun is just TOO hot for seng to make it on those hillsides that start facing a little to the south or west.

I understand that the more Northward you are - that north facing slope becomes less and less important, but if you are talking about Tennesee near the Ky boarder I don't think you are far enough north for that to be true.

But now could just be because I have never hunted seng anywhere but Middle TN, but I can't imagine it being that different in East TN - even in the mountain areas. A hillside that faces the south just gets sun all day long - no break at all. A hillside that faces the west takes the brunt of the hot evening sun and here that is just too extreme for most of the woods low growth plants.

If your fire was long enough ago that you have hardwood trees that have grown to be 20-30' tall (since the fire) and you don't find any seng in there now - then I don't think there is any chance that roots that were in there before the fire are going to come back this much later.

I would not doubt that a seng root could lay dormant for 2-3 years, but now not long enough for a oak tree to grow 20-30' tall.

Do you find any companion plants on your place ? especially the good ones like maidenhair fern ?

If you do find MHF growing there now, I would recommend that you try planting some stratified seed right in those spots where you find the MHF growing. IMO the MHF is the best of the best seng companion plants.

Good Luck !

TNhunter

Great question, TNHunter. Yes, I've got lots of ferns, and specifically, the maidenhair fern is here on my SSE-facing slopes. In fact, I look for ferns to know if an area is a decent ginseng hunting area.

If you have good healthy stands of MHF - heck I would give it a try.

You might not want to invest in a lot of seed, perhaps only a 1/4 or 1/2 pound of seed and plant it and see how it does.

If the 3 leafers sprout and do well next summer and into fall then I think you would be good.

It would not be a bad idea to get a soil test and just see what you have there, but if you have good stands of MHF the calcium levels are very likely going to be good.

Hope it works out for you. Be sure and let us know.

TNhunter