VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Platanus occidentalis | Sycamore 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
Sycamore is a valuable timber tree; its wood is hard, with a twisted and
coarse grain, but not very strong [13,30,76].  It is used for furniture,
interior trim, boxes, pulpwood, and particle and fiber board [13,30].  Carey
and Gill [19] rated sycamore as only fair (their lowest rating) for
fuelwood.

Sycamore is planted in short-rotation intensive culture systems for use
as fuel or pulp [72,78].


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
Sycamore does not provide much food for wildlife, although the seeds are
eaten by some birds including the purple finch [82,84], goldfinch,
chickadees, and dark-eyed junco [84], and by muskrat, beaver, and
squirrels [13,76,82,84].  Sycamore is rated as medium in suitability for
waterfowl habitat and low in suitability as deer or turkey food [3].
Carey and Gill [19] rated sycamore as only fair (their lowest rating)
for wildlife use.  In Arkansas, sycamore is of minor importance as deer
browse [84].  As sycamores age, they may develop hollow trunks which
provide shelter for a number of wildlife species; some large, old
individuals have formed cavities large enough to be used as dens by
black bear [84].  Cavity nesting birds include the barred owl [2],
eastern screech-owl, great crested flycatcher [37], and chimney swift
[84].  Wood duck use sycamores as nest trees [29].

The bottomland forests in which sycamore occurs are very important
wildlife habitat, sheltering numerous animal species including wood
duck, other waterfowl, upland game birds, and deer [57].  In Indiana,
riparian forests in which sycamore occurs are important habitat for the
endangered Indiana bat, which uses these areas for nursery colonies
[10].


PALATABILITY : 
NO-ENTRY


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
The nutritional value of sycamore "grab samples" was reported as
follows:  25 percent dry matter, 13.7 percent crude protein, and 67
percent total digestible nutrients [17].  Foliage samples were 18.2
percent lignin, 2.67 percent calcium, 0.38 percent magnesium, 0.12
percent phosphorus, and 1.65 percent potassium [65].


COVER VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
Sycamore occurs naturally on disturbed sites if there is sufficient
moisture for seedling establishment.  It occasionally occurs in mostly
pure, well-stocked stands on naturally regenerated strip-mined lands in
the central states.  In Missouri, it is often found in pure stands or in
mixtures with other hardwoods that pioneer on spoil banks.  In Alabama
and Tennessee, waterway disposal sites (material removed from stream
channels) seeded with grass mixtures were invaded by sycamore [38].  In
Tennessee, channelization projects resulting in degrading streambanks
were colonized by sycamores during the early recovery period [44].
Sycamore saplings were present in small numbers on unreclaimed limestone
quarries in Oklahoma [64].

Between 1928 and 1975, sycamore was one of the 10 most commonly planted
hardwoods on surface-mined soils in Indiana [11].  Sycamore is
recommended for planting on all types of strip-mined land in many
northeastern and central states [78].  In Florida, sycamore was planted
on a phosphate mine site for a wetland reclamation project [51].  In
Tennessee, beaver impoundments were drained and planted with sycamore;
sycamore was chosen for its ability to tolerate saturated soils [42].


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
Sycamore is planted as a street tree [83], although it is highly
susceptible to ozone damage [25] and is susceptible to foliar injury and
reduced growth when exposed to salt spray [73].  The London plane tree
is more resistant to air pollutants and is more commonly planted as a
street tree [28].

Sycamore has been planted in shelterbelts [16].


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Sycamore is a valuable timber species that can be regenerated from
natural seed sources, by planting, or by coppice systems.  

Seed:  Sycamore invades bottomland old fields when adequate seed
sources are present [3,59].  It oftens seeds in on clearcuts; good
initial establishment from natural seed sources requires some site
preparation [79].  Its potential for establishment from direct seeding
is unknown [3].

Plantation:  Sycamore usually shows good initial capture of planting
sites [49].  Sycamores interplanted with herbaceous legumes were larger
than control plants 6 years after legume establishment [36].  On mined
sites interplanting sycamore with the nitrogen-fixing European black
alder (Alnus glutinosa) doubled sycamore height and diameter growth over
that of control plants [77].  Site characteristics, rather than site
preparation method, had the most pronounced effect on sycamore height
growth [24].  However, Hunt and Cleveland [43] reported sycamore growing
on disc-cultivated sites showed better growth than with other
treatments.  Sycamore does not establish well in dense herb or shrub
cover [77].  Clatterbuck and Burkhardt [21] reported on the effects of
various mixtures and spacings for cherrybark oak (Quercus falcata) and
sycamore plantations in Arkansas.

Coppice:  For short-rotation intensive culture systems, sycamore yield
is influenced by site, fertilizer, spacing, and rotation [80].  Sycamore
has good coppice regeneration potential although it may not be
sustainable over many rotations.  Geyer [33] reported that sycamore died
after two coppice harvests in Kansas.  A high percentage of stumps
sprout, regardless of stump size or time of harvest.  However, dormant
season cuts produce larger and heavier sprout clumps than cuts during
the growing season [5,78].

Insects and Diseases:  Natural stands of sycamore have few lethal
diseases [22]; disease problems occur mostly in plantations.  Important
diseases include anthracnose and eastern mistletoe (Phoradendron spp.)
[78].  There have been some reports of a potentially serious disease of
sycamore in Illinois and adjacent states, and possibly spreading to
Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama.  This disease has been
attributed to attacks by various organisms on environmentally stressed
trees; it is not attributed to a single cause [22].  There are no
insects of economic importance in natural stands, although problems with
insects occur in landscaping trees [78].

Large sycamores sometimes develop wind shake, a wood defect that reduces
its economic value [78].  Sycamore is susceptible to ice damage
[78]; of six trees examined after an ice/sleet storm in Missouri and
Illinois, only one escaped major damage [23].

Under powerlines, sycamore regrowth was appreciably reduced with
pressure-injected malic hydrazide or daminozide [12].

Related categories for Species: Platanus occidentalis | Sycamore