Figure 2.— This field 

 and woodland border 

 supplies food and shel- 

 ter for wildlife. There 

 is no erosion here, and 

 the roots of the trees 

 do not take plant food 

 and moisture from the 

 cropland. 



fields and take plant nutrients and moisture from the soil. A study 

 of more than 3,000 fields adjacent to woodlands in the Southeast 

 revealed that woodlands prevent useful crop production to an average 

 distance of 35 feet from the base of the outermost trees. The distance 

 to which mature woodlands affect the growth of crops is ordinarily 

 greater than this. 



It is a rather common practice in parts of the South to cut back 

 both trees and shrubs to protect the crop, but this is of benefit only 

 temporarily. Furthermore, though trees removed from the woodland 

 edge adjacent to field crops supply fuel, their removal before they are 

 large enough to cut reduces crop production. Taking trees for fuel from 

 the edge of woodlands is usually unnecessary on farms in the Southeast 

 because most woodlands contain too large a proportion of trees suit- 

 able only for fuel wood. Removing these trees of poor form or species 

 increases the productivity of farm woodlands, for it gives space to 

 the more valuable trees. Too often these thinnings in the interior 

 of the woodland are not made because the farmer cuts his fuel wood 

 from the woodland border to protect his crops. 



A better plan is to run a 35- to 40-foot strip of herbaceous plants 

 and shrubs between the woodland and the field. The half of the 

 strip in herbaceous plants, next to the crop, is a field border. The 

 other half, in shrubs next to the trees, is a shrub or woodland border. 

 The entire strip is commonly known as a wildlife border (fig. 2) . 



If a border of shrubs and herbaceous plants is maintained along 

 the woodland, the encroachment of tree roots into cropland is much 

 less extensive. Crops do not have to compete with the trees. There 

 need be no bare eroded strip at the field's edge. 



It is evident, therefore, that maintaining such a border along the 

 woodland is good management in forestry, agronomy, and erosion 

 control. Furthermore, it is good wildlife management. 



A border of shrubs provides a wealth of berries and fruits for wild- 

 life, as well as cover and nesting sites. On the border of the woodland, 

 where there is ample sunlight, shrubs produce fruit abundantly. In 

 the understory of woods, they produce comparatively little fruit. To 

 make cuttings in the more mature stands to favor shrubs would be bad 

 economy. Moreover, it would be unjustified, because the main body of 

 trees provides cover and mast for wildlife. The farmer who desires to 

 provide habitats for wildlife by maintaining shrubs on his farm can 



233106°— 40 



