VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Acer macrophyllum | Bigleaf Maple 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
Bigleaf maple is the only commercially important maple of the Pacific
Coast region.  The wood is used primarily for making veneer for
furniture, but may also be used for making musical instruments, interior
paneling, and other products where a hardwood is preferred [3,37].  The
heartwood is light, reddish brown, fine grained, moderately heavy, and
moderately hard and strong [3].

In California, many land managers consider bigleaf maple of low value,
and it is often knocked over intentionally but not harvested during
logging operations in Douglas-fir and redwood stands [10].


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
Although the leaves of mature bigleaf maple trees are mostly out of
reach of browsing animals, leaves on young plants that are within reach
are readily eaten by cattle and horses and to a lesser extent by sheep
[14,20].  Seedlings and saplings provide important browse for
black-tailed deer and mule deer and in some areas for elk [20,24,57].  A
western Oregon study found that 60 percent of bigleaf maple seedlings
over 10 inches (25 cm) tall had been browsed by deer, most several times
[24].

The seeds, buds, and flowers of bigleaf maple provide food for numerous
birds and small mammals including mice, woodrats, squirrels, chipmunks,
finches, and grosbeaks [20,43].  Squirrels and chipmunks eat the seeds,
frequently caching them after removing the hull and wing [43].  Seeds
which hang on the tree during fall and winter provide nutritious food
for finches, grosbeaks, and the Douglas squirrel [3].  Seeds on the
ground and young seedlings are eaten by rodents.  Rodents eat the roots
or pull entire seedlings into burrows [24].  Numerous birds use maple
(Acer spp.) leaves and seed stalks for nest building [43].


PALATABILITY : 
Bigleaf maple is browsed by deer during the summer months but is
virtually untouched once the leaves have fallen [35].

The palatability of bigleaf maple leaves and twigs for livestock and
wildlife species throughout its range is generally rated as follows
[14,20,34,53]:

cattle                  fair-good
horses                  fair-good
sheep                   poor-fair
black-tailed deer       fair-good
mule deer               fair-good


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 



COVER VALUE : 
Often occurring in riparian habitats, bigleaf maple contributes to the
structural diversity of riparian deciduous forests and provides cover
for many species of small mammals and perching birds [48].  Several
species of perching birds nest in bigleaf maple trees [3].


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
Bigleaf maple has been planted in California with other native trees,
shrubs, and herbs to revegetate disturbed sites along riparian areas
[8,26,45].  It is easily transplanted as bareroot material when
dormant.  Everett [17] details methods for growing seedlings for
transplanting.


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
Bigleaf maple is a common shade tree in towns and pastures west of the
Cascades [3].  Native Americans used the bark for making rope and carved
bowls, utensils, and canoe paddles from the wood [3].  Although not
produced commercially, maple syrup can be made from the sap of bigleaf
maple.  It takes about 35 gallons of sap to produce 1 gallon of syrup
[51].


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
In coastal Oregon, Washington, and California red alder and bigleaf
maple are the dominant vegetation on millions of acres of highly
productive forest land [10,27].  Although general references state that
bigleaf maple quickly "invades" logged areas [20,39], research in the
Oregon Coast Range showed that bigleaf maple seedlings did not invade
clearcuts [23,24].  However, following logging, bigleaf maple, whether
originating from sprouts or from seed, is a serious competitor with
Douglas-fir, especially on moist productive sites [10,20,27,30,39].

Established plants damaged or cut during logging operations quickly
sprout and produce wide-crowned multistemmed shrubs.  Sprouts grow
quickly and easily outgrow conifers.  Haeussler and Coates [30] report
that "no other individual of any plant species provides as much
competition to Douglas-fir as a single sprouted stump of bigleaf maple."
Bigleaf maple's large leaves produce a deep shade that does not allow
shade-intolerant species such as Douglas-fir to become established, and
the heavy leaf fall smothers young seedlings.

Cutting:  When cut, bigleaf maple sprouts grow back almost immediately
[30].
    
Herbicides:  Broadcast applications of most herbicides has proven
ineffective.  Broadcast spraying normally causes top-kill only, followed
by rapid sprouting [30].  Directed spot sprays or tree injections have
been more successful.  Glyphosate, triclopyr, dichlorprop, imazapyr, and
triclopyramine usually prevent sprouting when applied by these methods
[12,30].

Mechanical removal:  Stumps uprooted by large crawler tractors and
backhoes produce minimal sprouts of low vigor [30].  

Related categories for Species: Acer macrophyllum | Bigleaf Maple