VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Fraxinus americana | White Ash 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
The wood of white ash is economically important due to its strength,
hardness, weight, and shock resistance [17].  It is second only to
hickory (Carya spp.) for use in the production of tool handles.  Nearly
all wooden baseball bats are made from white ash [11].  The wood is also
used in furniture, antique vehicle parts, railroad cars and ties, canoe
paddles, snowshoes [23], boats, doors, and cabinets [30].


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
White ash is an important source of browse and cover for livestock and
wildlife.  The samaras are good forage for the wood duck, northern
bobwhite, purple finch, pine grosbeak, fox squirrel, and mice, and many
other birds and small mammals [27].  White ash is browsed mostly in the
summer by white-tailed deer and cattle [22].  The bark of young trees is
occasionally used as food by beaver, porcupine, and rabbits [27].

White ash's ability to readily form trunk cavities if the top is broken
and its large d.b.h. (24 to 48 inches [61-122 cm]) at maturity make it
highly valuable for primary cavity nesters such as red-headed,
red-bellied, and pileated woodpeckers.  Once the primary nest excavators
have opened up the bole of the tree, it is excellent habitat for
secondary nesters such as wood ducks, owls, nuthatches, and gray
squirrels [7].


PALATABILITY : 
The palatability of white ash browse for deer and cattle varies from
poor in the fall and winter to fair in the summer [22].  The samaras are
good forage in the fall [27].

The relish and the degree of use shown by livestock and wildlife species
for white ash in several eastern states has been rated as follows
[22,27]:

                        ME        PA        WV        MI        KY

Cattle                  fair      fair      fair      fair      fair
White-tailed deer       fair      fair      fair      fair      fair
Small mammals           good      good      good      good      good
Small nongame birds     good      good      good      good      good
Upland game birds       good      good      good      good      good
Waterfowl               good      good      good      good      good


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
White ash browse has a low protein content and low phosphorus:calcium
ratio, giving it a poor nutritional rating in the winter; however, in
the spring and summer the protein content increases to 7.7 percent,
increasing its rating to fair [19].

The nutrient values for white ash browse collected on January 16 were as
follows (data presented is in percent composition) [19].

                            N-free
Protein     Fat     Fiber   Extract    Ash    Phosphorus   Calcium

3.47        0.95    37.56   40.90      2.12   0.07         0.74


COVER VALUE : 
White ash provides hiding and thermal cover for a variety of mammals and
birds.  The degree to which white ash provides environmental protection
during one or more seasons for wildlife species in several eastern
states has been rated as follows [26,27,28]:

                         ME        PA        WV        MI        KY

White-tailed deer       good      good      good      good      good
Small mammals           good      good      good      good      good
Small nongame birds     good      good      good      good      good
upland game birds       good      good      good      good      good
Waterfowl               good      good      good      good      good


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
White ash has been used in Ohio, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania in the
reclamation of surface coal mines, with 45 percent survival after 30
years.  White ash should be planted in mixtures with other hardwoods;
interplanting with European alder (Alnus glutimosa) nearly doubled the
height and d.b.h. of white ash on a site in eastern Kentucky.  White ash
seedlings are recomended for planting; direct seeding in Ohio produced
poor results.  On acid spoils the lower pH limit for white ash is 4.0
[31].


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
The juice from the leaves of white ash can be applied topically to
mosquito bites for relief of swelling and itching [17].  White ash has a
specialized use as a prophylactic measure for snake bite.  If one
carries the crushed leaves in his/her pockets the odor has been "proved"
offensive to rattlesnakes [27].

Open-grown white ash is useful as a shade and ornamental tree [17].


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
White ash is susceptible to a variety of natural and man-made pathogens.
Ash decline (also called ash dieback or ash yellows) has increased over
the last 40 years and is especially prevalent in New York, Pennsylvania,
and Vermont.  Mortality rates are as high as 90 percent in some areas of
New York.  Nearly all of the ash decline from 1980 to 1986 occurred in
areas with high levels of atmospheric deposition of sulfur (S0x) and
nitrous (NOx) oxides.  Although there is no concrete evidence that acid
deposition is the causal agent, it can not be dismissed [23].  Ash
decline probably results from multiple factors--the disease, ash
yellows, caused by a mycoplasmalike organism; canker fungi (Fusicoccum
spp.); viruses; acid deposition; and drought [16].  Maintaining good
tree vigor is the primary control recommendation.  Preventative measures
that seem to abate ash decline include [16]:  watering, fertilizing,
applying fungicide, covering wounds with a fungicide-augmented dressing,
and avoiding planting white ash in areas of high acid deposition.

White ash has been found to be sensitive to ozone (O3), sulfur dioxide
(SO2), and acid deposition.  Chappelka and others [3] found that total
biomass was reduced 14 percent after exposure to these atmospheric
contaminants.  Visible evidence is characterized by initial purple-white
stippling on the adaxial leaf surface which turns into necrotic lesions.
This occurred on 66 percent of the plants.

White ash varies in cold hardiness with the latitude of origin.  Trees
grown in the North have a lower lethal temperatures than those from the
South.  When revegetating an area, seed and seedlings must be procurred
from a source that is climatically and geographically simalar [1,13].

Clark and Schroeder [4] have developed equations to calculate the green
volume, green weight, and dry weight of white ash.

Related categories for Species: Fraxinus americana | White Ash