The Margaret Finley Shackelford Orchard
Complex
Seed Orchard
The Margaret Finley Shackelford Orchard Complex
is underway at Ames Plantation in cooperation with the
University of Tennessee. Named for the Trust’s Founder, the
orchards will eventually produce locally adapted hardwood
seedlings for an array of species. These seedlings will be
selected on the basis of genetic qualities that lead to improved
timber production and wildlife habitat.
The work is supported by an initial grant of $334,000 from the
Trust. These funds and additional Trust funds since that
time enabled the Seed Orchard project and hiring of an orchard
manager, building renovation and purchase of supporting
equipment commenced. The cooperative effort represents a project
that simultaneously encompasses research, natural resource
management, and true conservation. Dr. Scott Schlarbaum,
Professor and Director of the UT Tree Improvement Program and
Dr. Allan Houston, Professor and Director of the Ames Forestry
and Wildlife Programs are co-project leaders for the cooperative
effort. Dr. Schlarbaum has noted that the project represents a
"holistic" approach toward improving Tennessee’s forests and
directly addressing the needs of wildlife.
A 60-acre tract was set dedicated for the establishment of these
orchards and a supporting Complex. In all about 100 acres
support the effort. An existing building on the 60-acre site has
been renovated for working space, shop, office, and other
supporting facilities, including a small dormitory.
Before orchard trees can be planted, 10-foot-tall electric,
solar-powered fences were must be erected to keep deer from
eating the valuable seedlings. Approximatly 5 miles of fencing
has been erected since the beginning of the project,
representing a total 160,000 lineal feet of wire. With unusually
wet weather it was a herculean effort to get the fence up and
working before spring arrived in full force. Although conditions
were often less than optimal the crew continued to work
effectively and maintained good spirits throughout the effort.
All Shackelford plantations were evaluated for survival, growth,
and condition durin the winter of 2004-05. Survival was
generally excellent, e.g., > 90 percent, with the exception of
the black walnut test. This plantation was planted (2003) in the
large field west of the headquarters building and it was the
only plantation not protected by a deer fence. At the time of
planting, we felt that this species would be likely to escape
deer browse and the fall rubbing associated with a buck’s mock
fighting and removal of velvet from the antlers. Time and deer
have proven us wrong, even with special TWRA nuisance-animal
removal permits that allow hunting out-of-season. The deer
proved as adverse to removal as they were prone to venture into
the fields. After a number of mosquito- infested nights removal
efforts were abandoned and the deer remained in possession of
the field of battle.
Planting involved plot layouts, which also included strategies
to allow for future growth of the orchards as new species and
genetic lines within a species were added, digging auger holes,
and finally putting seedlings in the ground, carefully,
one-at-a-time by hand. These species are also mainstay wildlife
components in the eco-systems where they were found. For
example, cherrybark oak is the finest red oak species in the
world, famous for timber production, but also invaluable as
bottomland mast producer.
Orchard seedlings represent 2 years of work as seed have been
collected from wild trees in the fall, grown in Georgia State
nurseries during the following summer, lifted from the bed and
graded the next winter. Only the best seedlings, as determined
by first order lateral root physiology, were planted in the
complex. The trees were transported from Georgia and stored in a
mobile cooler until the planting sites were ready. One site was
established on recently harvested bottomland. The tract was
treated with herbicides during the fall of 2002 and the heavy
amounts of residual woody vegetation prevented fencing.
Bulldozer work during the summer of 2004, along with additional
work in 2005 will prepare the site for planting of bottomland
hardwood species during the winter of 2005-06.
To collect the seed and assist with other Shackelford
activities, Cornelia ‘Leila’ Pinchot was hire for the fall of
2004 and winter 2005.. Leila is the great granddaughter of
Giffort Pinchot (pronounced Pin-cho), the first American
forester, first Chief of the USDA Forest Service, and primary
architect of our National Forest System. She was named after
Cornelia Pinchot, Gifford’s wife. Leila came recommended by
Sandra Anagnostakis, Connecticut Experiment Station, who
cooperates with the UT Tree Improvement Program on butternut.
Testing how this seedling culture can affect silvicultural
techniques is also underway. An upland timber stand was
harvested using what is generally known as a "selection cut.”
Post-harvest openings in a hardwood stand were created in places
where several large, neighboring trees had been removed or where
the residual trees were of low economic or wildlife value. These
openings were generally about an acre in size. Without existing
oak regeneration in the stand prior to harvest, it usually will
not successfully regenerate to oaks. Often, less desirable and
less wildlife-friendly species will invade and capture the site.
Ami Sharpe, a graduate student in the Department of Forestry,
Wildlife and Fisheries at the University of Tennessee, is
examining the “response of northern red oak seedlings to
environmental conditions in these group and also in single tree
selection openings,” using seedlings that were developed from
the Shackelford Orchards. The study reflects a direct research
application to allow development of hardwood regeneration
techniques that here-to-fore have not been possible. The orchard
work and advancement of seedling cultures allow this work to be
on the cutting edge of science.
Ami’s part of the effort will be completed within a year.
However her project, along with additional research involving
already planted white oak, will continue for the long term.
Ami’s work is very complicated, including measurements of
available light, soil types and moisture regimes, topographic
maps of all plots, aspect, and family designations (i.e.,
essentially the pedigree for all seedlings). The soil work alone
has required enormous effort. Her work is developing unique
results and has direct bearing on how the Shackelford orchards
can influence the health and value of future forests. The work
will allow matching seedlings to microhabitats and compare field
and orchard performance.
Some
of the seedlings in these studies easily exceed 15 feet in
height. The results of the study will contribute to the
understanding of what parameters are most important to allow
seedlings to grow. This information will lead to the formation
of precision forestry techniques and a holistic management
scheme for hardwoods that includes crop tree enhancement
techniques (discussed in other parts the Ames webpage).
The work has been noted in the scientific community. For
example, the Bicentennial Southern Silvicultural Research
Conference held in Memphis during the winter of ‘05 requested a
field tour of the study. The conference draws an audience from
across a wide spectrum of the Nation’s professional and academic
forestry and wildlife experts. The field tour was successful and
the number of attendees was higher, here, than for any previous
tour during the course of the Conference’s existence (over 25
years). This indicates the interest in these orchards and the
silvicultural strategies that arise from them.
The Orchard Complex is developing well and requires continuous
maintenance. But progress in being made on many fronts, ---from
seedlings that will grow into producing hardwood seed trees and
produce seedlings for additional research and further
improvement, but more importantly for distribution onto a
landscape where they will make a very positive impact on the
health and sustainability of forest, industry and wildlife
habitats ---to new ideas and silvicultural concepts, that can be
directly applied to making forest regeneration predictable and
successful, increasing growth and having a system that is
acceptable to private landowners.