Eastern Redcedar in Nebraska: Nebraska Conservation Roundtable
Eastern redcedar, Juniperus virginiana, is a native tree that has always been a fixture on the Nebraska landscape, providing valuable wood products, wind and soil protection, and habitat for a variety of species of wildlife. However, the rapid spread of cedar is an increasingly serious ecological and economic issue with substantial impacts statewide.
Forestry Best Management Practices For Nebraska
Forests cover 947,000 acres in Nebraska. Other land with scattered tree cover, including narrow wooded strips along streams, windbreaks, and wooded pasture lands, occupies an additional 1,252,000 acres. Managing Nebraska's forest lands can produce significant benefits without negative impacts; however, careless activities in woodlands can damage water resources, soils, wildlife habitat, aesthetic values, and even the ability to produce future benefits.
Herbicide Damage to Trees
Herbicides can be effective tools for controlling unwanted weeds in the landscape. However, in recent years, the Nebraska Forest Service has seen a significant increase in unintended herbicide damage to trees and other landscape plants. You can assist us in documenting damage across Nebraska. Please note the NFS is not a regulatory agency.
Inspecting Flood Damaged Trees
Even under the best of circumstances, half of a tree’s living tissue is under the soil and out of sight. Since the root system is the portion of a tree most adversely affected by flooding, signs of flooding damage in the canopy are usually delayed. As a guiding element, in a long-term flooding situation, you should expect that some level of damage has occurred to the root system as a result of low oxygen conditions.
Managing Your Woodlands
Nebraska’s forests, also known as woodlands, comprise three percent of the total land base in the state. On an acre by acre comparison, woodlands provide more associated benefits for the landowner, society, the environment, and our quality of life than many other land uses. With the diversity of benefits from Nebraska’s woodlands compared to the limited acres that they occupy, it is important to properly manage these areas for the sustained health and continued benefits the trees provide. These woodlands are dynamic and constantly
Redcedar Utilization
Eastern redcedar management has become a topic of much discussion. Identifying utilization and wood products opportunities for redcedar wood will be key to increasing management and reducing its impact on the landscape.