VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Chamaedaphne calyculata | Leatherleaf 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
Leatherleaf is browsed and used for nesting by wildlife.  It was a minor
part of white-tailed deer winter browse in New Jersey [54].  Leatherleaf
was consumed in small amounts by caribou in Michigan and northern Canada
[14,61,67,69].  Sharp-tailed grouse browsed leatherleaf twigs during the
winter in Wisconsin [68].  Moose occasionally browsed leatherleaf from
June to November on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska [51].  Mallards nest in
leatherleaf in North Dakota [13].  Leatherleaf occurred in cover types
used year-round by ruffed grouse [57].


PALATABILITY : 
NO-ENTRY


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
Current year's growth of leatherleaf that was collected in July and
August in southeastern Manitoba had 7.5 percent crude protein, 48.1
percent acid detergent fiber, and 49.3 percent dry matter digestibility.
One-year-old leaves had slightly more crude protein (8.0 percent) and
less acid detergent fiber (33.4 percent) and dry matter digestibility
(44.3 percent) [67].


COVER VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
Leatherleaf reclaimed large areas in raised bogs in the eastern United
States that had been denuded by commercial peat removal over the past 4
to 92 years [24].  Seven years after powerline construction in a treed
bog in northern Manitoba, leatherleaf had two times more biomass than
other shrubs present.  It had a frequency of 78 percent in disturbed
areas and 94 percent in the control [71].  In the Pinhook Bog of
Indiana, sphagnum mats containing leatherleaf were successfully
transplanted to other bog areas that had been killed by runoff from
stockpiled road salt [82].


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
NO-ENTRY


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Leatherleaf greatly increases following clearcutting; leatherleaf and
other shrubs can suppress black spruce on medium to poor sites [42].  In
Minnesota, leatherleaf and other shrubs rapidly increased after tree
harvest; however, restocking was not affected by shrub density 4 to 6
years after harvest [37].  Despite dense leatherleaf in a black spruce
swamp in Ontario, relative regeneration rates of black spruce were high
[41].  There was no difference in stocking rates on nine burned and
unburned cutover black spruce sites in northern Minnesota; seedbed cover
by leatherleaf and bog labrador tea was at acceptable levels [1].

Control of leatherleaf by herbicides has been discussed [60].

Aboveground biomass of leatherleaf was estimated at 136.7 pounds per
acre (122 kg/ha) for wildlife browse and ground fuels in open black
spruce bogs in Nova Scotia [78].

Transplanting leatherleaf in summer or autumn stimulated shoot
production more than spring transplanting [26].

Related categories for Species: Chamaedaphne calyculata | Leatherleaf