Limits to Growth

I find the difference between the new growth in the woodlot and that in the area near the house astounding. Here is what I find in fir and spruce in the closed-canopy lot: an inch or so of new needles.

I thought it might be a matter of the species involved, but it seems to be true of both fir (left) and spruce (below).

 Now, soil may be a factor as well, but I suspect both nutrient starvation and lack of light develop from the same condition: overcrowding. It's time to thin, thin, thin. By contrast, the trees in the cleared areas near the houses show about three inches. These photos are from about ten days ago; yesterday I noticed that the woodlot trees have made no gains but the ones near the house have continued to develop new growth.

 This is from the edge of the field, where there was once a barn (and probably lots of manure). There is a much greater depth of soil, and probably more nutrients, but there is also more light for each tree. I'm going to try thinning some areas in the woodlot quite severely, and we'll see what develops.

If the rest of the lot grew at this rate, we'd have massive regeneration. These ones are growing at about six times the rate of the ones in the lot!