This page has been set up to share photos & video relating to the "Planning & Prescriptions" chapter of "Step By Step, A Tree Planter's Handbook." Visit www.replant.ca/books to see books about tree planting.
At the start of your contract, the forester may want to meet with the planters to explain all the planting specs and other requirements. This isn't always the case though. Sometimes it's easier for the forester to meet with just the management team from the camp/crew, for a more direct discussion, and then have the management team pass along the appropriate information.
Here's another example of a forester giving a pre-work to a large crew of planters.
Sometimes, the forester prefers to have just members of the crew's management team (supervisor, crew leaders, quality checkers) at the prework, to allow for more one-on-one discussion. The management team then relays the pertinent information directly to their planters.
Here's an example of a crew leader demonstrating a particular quality requirement to a group of planters.
In BC, there's a standard system used for assessing quality on all government planting work. It's called the FS 704 system. The same system is used at some of the private mills and licensees throughout BC and Alberta, although other contracts may use different systems. As you move across Canada, many different quality assessment systems are in place. The forester will often tailor his/her planting expectations to local conditions. For example, a prescription in a desert-like region may emphasize that trees should be planted deep and low, in spots that retain moisture, whereas a prescription in a cold and wet region may emphasize planting the seedlings on high spots, to maximize maturation during a challenging growing season.
Knowing the area to be planted is important. In some areas, the block edges are very obvious.
Sometimes, different colors of ribbon or paint are used on trees along the edge of the block boundary, to help make it more obvious about where the edge of the block is. These are usually put in place for the harvesting crew to understand the boundaries, but they are occasionally also helpful to planters.
In other areas, especially where wildfires have damaged the environment, a forester may have to clearly mark the boundaries at the edge of a block, by using paint or ribbons.
A forester may use a GPS unit to determine the exact locations of block boundaries, or of planting unit boundaries. Sometimes a single block will have two or more unique planting units, and the prescriptions may be slightly different in each unit. For instance, different planting units (PU's) on a single block may have different prescribed densities, species mixes, or site preparation.
In this photo, a manager is confirming that the block boundary markings conform to expectations.
The BC government has published a Silviculture Prescription Guidebook to help foresters come up with appropriate prescriptions for their blocks. Not all provinces offer such guidance.
Although some plantations are monocultures (single species), in many other areas, it is common to plant two or more species simultaneously. This approach is a bit more challenging for the planters, but it feels good to know that more biodiversity is being encouraged. This photo shows three types of trees going into a block: Douglas Fir, Sitka Spruce, and Western Red Cedar.
In a percentage mix, the entire block is covered with a random scattering of the different species at a certain prescribed ratio.
In a targeted mix, the block gets the prescribed ratios for various species, but the planting can be "patchy" to take advantage of certain species that prefer different microsites. For example, using the photo that showed the Douglas fir, spruce, and cedar, Douglas Fir prefers well-drained mineral soils, Sitka Spruce prefers wet ground with clean, aerated running water, and cedar can survive in shady areas with a heavy organic planting medium. In a targeted mix using those species, the trees wouldn't be planted randomly everywhere. Instead, the planters would try to target the spruce to go near streams and in gullies, the Douglas Fir may be mostly at the top of a block that has a lot of exposed mineral soil, and the cedar might be mostly at the bottom of the block which happens to have a lot of red rot and black organics.
Foresters will sometimes request that trees be planted close to obstacles such as stumps, logs, or rocks. There are various reasons why this might be beneficial for the seedling, but the common reasons are protection from cattle or from Chinooks (in southern Alberta). Certain obstacles also retain heat in the evening, which may be beneficial to a seedling in a cool environment.
Foresters will sometimes want some of the surface debris cleared away before a tree is planted. This process is called screefing. This photo shows a planter doing a boot screef. If you're doing a boot screef, the motion of your leg should be forward and back, rather than side to side, to avoid injuring your knee.
If the forester requires screefing down through grass mat or through significant debris, a shovel screef may be more effective than a boot screef. The motion for shovel screefing is somewhat similar to gripping the paddle of a canoe.
Here's another photo of a worker doing a shovel screef.
Although shovel screefing seems very awkward to new planters who are just learning to plant, it becomes very effortless and easy to experienced planters.
Sometimes, a prescription may incorporate additional components to help ensure growth of the seedlings. In areas where deer like to eat young trees, cones may be placed over top of the trees until the trees are at least five or six feet high. This is a four-foot high cone anchored in place, over top of a planted cedar tree.
In this photo, a pair of workers are installing cones, and they are also installing brush mats that reduce grass competition in the immediate area around each seedling.
Here is a block full of cones.
This is a different type of cone.
Planters are sometimes asked to plant a small fertilizer pack (often known as a "fert" or a "teabag") in the ground beside the roots of each seedling.
Click here to see a page listing books related to reforestation in Canada. If you received a photocopied version of this book from your planting company, or you're a trainer at a Canadian planting company, click on this link for more information.
