It will take 5-15 yrs to replace the trees–if it is possible. Many of the trees lost were 50-100 yrs old.
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Our woods are primarily oak, hickory (a relative of pecan), maple, and beech. In 2017 a storm with 90 mph winds destroyed 15 acres of our woods. We had that area logged to make it safe for us and our dogs to walk in. It will not recover in our lifetimes, but we are watching the succession. Tulip poplars are reaching for the sun, but lots of oaks, hickories, and beeches are growing waiting for the weakest of the tulip trees to fail and give them a chance.
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Our property in Wisconsin has oaks, hickory, black walnut and a few maples. The oldest ones are 150 years old and started growing after the land was logged off to provide timber after the Chicago fire of 1871.
DB2
The winds of Helene were not so strong in GA that I would have expected acres of trees to have been knocked down, as seen in the pictures. Are pecan tree roots just that shallow? Pecans are a major year round staple in our house, to the tune of about 2 pounds of nut meat a month. Really sad for the farmers. Such a brutally hard career and much under appreciated by the consumers.
IP
Pecan trees often surprise people with their root structure. Unlike many of their deep-rooted brethren, pecan trees may not have a prominent taproot, especially those grown in nurseries. This taproot, which can delve deep into the soil in search of water, is often pruned during the nursery process to encourage a more fibrous root system.
DB2
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Thanks for the article. Sounds like the nurseries may need to reconsider their conclusion that the tap root is not required for stability. Mother nature often knows what she’s doing.
“A naturally-grown pecan tree has a big tap root that goes down to the water table. However, this may be absent from many of our commercial trees because this tap root was cut off when dug at the nursery. There are also some “sinker” roots that go down very deep at a 90-degree angle from the lateral scaffold roots and accomplish the same function of accessing deep water at the top of the water table.”
I grew up in Houston, and we spent lot of time visiting family in Galveston and on the mainland just across Galveston Bay where my grandmother had moved. She lived on 5 acres filled with pecan trees. As kids, we were recruited to pick up pecans every fall, untold paper grocery sacks full of them. I remember Hurricane Celia hitting us in August 1970. Our house was undamaged, but others had roofs ripped off, lots of flooding. My three brothers and I were dispatched to Meme’s to clean up. We spent a week dragging broken pecan tree branches to a burn pile, but I don’t recall that even a single tree was uprooted. Those trees were strong!
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This will aid New Mexico pecan farmers. New Mexico has the same output as Georgia.
https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/pecan-production-by-state
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One third crop loss? Pah! Michigan sweet cherry growers lost three quarters of their crop this year, to weather. Where is the media hysteria? Where is the hand wringing?
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They lost their “cherry”. New crop next year. Not so for pecans.
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Meanwhile, in Missouri, 5000lbs an acre for a first bumper crop in more than 7 years among mature trees in the western side of the state.
They’re mid season to shake and crack 'em to 80% cleaned.
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