The Planting of Trees

Trees are plants which grow from seed. The seed in itself has enough food to produce plumule (growing upwards); and a radicle (growing down). While the plumule breaks up through ground and grows some leaves, the radicle is pushing down and growing hairy roots. At this stage the plant is called a seedling. This much happens during the first season. During the next 1 to 2 seasons (depending upon conditions: weather, soil-quality) the seedling will grow branches each with leaves, while underground, the roots will also branch out and grow more hair-roots. The seeding has now developed into sapling. The plant should grow into a young tree during the next 5-10 seasons and matures fully within 20 years (depending upon the type of tree). Planting:Trees normally grow in large groups: woods, forests or plantations. Woods and forests grow naturally, that is the seeds are dispersed by wind, water, birds or animals. Plantations on the other hand are grown by humans. Plantations: A suitable planting-site and the climate are two important points in starting a plantation. Ireland is a small island off the coast of Europe with a maritime climate. The weather here is never too hot, nor too cold. Ireland also has plenty of good land for tree growing. The environment here is suitable for the growing of many different species (types) of trees.

Seeds: Seeds are gathered from mature trees and graded to select only the good seed. The seeds are mixed with some grit and compost and are spread out in a prepared field using a mechanical-seeder. This is done in autumn and the seeds are allowed to grow for one season. At this stage the seeds have grown into seedlings. All the good seedlings are replanted and given more space to grow. After another season the seedlings will have developed into saplings. These saplings are graded also and the good saplings brought to the planting-site. Planting-site: The planting-site is where the plantation will eventually grow. The site must be ploughed and drained so that the soil is not water-- logged. Small mounds of soil are made to take the saplings. The whole site is fenced off to protect the young trees from the damage caused by intruders (animals or humans). Over the next five years the young plantation is carefully looked after by foresters who may have to weed and fertilise to site. Silviculture: Silviculture is the looking-after of forests so as to produce as much good timber as possible. The first step in this process is planting the saplings close together. This forces the young plants to compete and grow faster. As they grow taller the upper branches block the light and prevent any large branches growing lower down on the tree trunks. This results in the trees producing good quality timber (straight-grained and without a lot of knots). After about 5 years the forests are thinned-out. This is when weaker trees are cut down to allow the stronger ones more space to grow bigger. The trees which are cut out at this stage are called forest-thinnings and are used in a number of ways in the timber industry.

Timber Industry

Harvesting Timber