VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Thuja occidentalis | Northern White-Cedar 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
The wood of northern white-cedar is resistant to decay.  It is used for
products that come in contact with water and soil, such as fence posts,
shingles, paneling, and boats [25,26].  Northern white-cedar logs are
especially popular to use for log cabins because the wood has good
insulating qualities [31].  It is also used for kraft pulp and particle
board [26].


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
Northern white-cedar provides food and shelter for wildlife.
White-tailed deer, snowshoe hares, and porcupines heavily browse the
foliage [26].  Northern white-cedar is one of the best winter browse
species for white-tailed deer in the northern Lake States, and it is
often overbrowsed [2].  Moose browse northern white-cedar only when
other food is scarce.  In a study on Isle Royale in Michigan, northern
white-cedar constituted only 0.7 percent of the moose diet, but 5.8
percent of the available food [3].

Pileated woodpeckers feed on carpenter ants that, in turn, nest in and
feed on the heartwood of northern white-cedar [13].  Other birds that
are especially abundant in northern white-cedar forests include
white-throated sparrows, golden-crowned kinglets, yellow-bellied
flycatchers, ovenbirds, northern parulas, winter wrens, Swainson's
thrushes, and numerous warblers.  Blackburnian warblers, Cape May
warblers, ovenbirds, and golden-crowned kinglets breed in the densest
stands [18].


PALATABILITY : 
Northern white-cedar browse is highly palatable to white-tailed deer
[2].


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
Northern white-cedar browse is, on average by wet weight, 2.7 percent
protein, 5.2 percent fat, 27.5 percent carbohydrates, and 13.9 percent
crude fiber [44].  It is high in calcium [29].  The browse is considered
highly nutritious [2] and is more digestible to white-tailed deer than
bigtooth aspen (Populus grandidentata) browse [44].


COVER VALUE : 
Stands of northern white-cedar provide thermal cover for white-tailed
deer, moose, and black bear [4,9,39].


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
NO-ENTRY


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
Northern white-cedar is widely planted as an ornamental.  Northern
white-cedar leaf oil is distilled from boughs and used for perfume and
medicines.  The foliage is rich in vitamin C; Native Americans and early
European explorers used it to treat scurvy [26].

Because of its long life span, northern white-cedar is a valuable
species for dendroclimatic research [5].


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
There is interest in regenerating northern white-cedar after harvest
because of its forage value to white-tailed deer and because of the
popularity of northern white-cedar log cabins.  In the past, forest
managers have not successfully regenerated this species.  Northern
white-cedar is a slow-growing species, and seedlings are frequently
damaged by heavy browsing.  Many former northern white-cedar stands are
now dominated by balsam fir (Abies balsamea), spruce (Picea spp.), aspen
(Populus spp.), or speckled alder (Alnus rugosa) [31].

A combination of clearcut and shelterwood strips is currently
recommended for harvesting mature stands of northern white-cedar and
reproducing new ones, although other possible methods should be
investigated [27].  If there are less than 10 northern white-cedar
advance regeneration stems per miliacre (2.5 stems/sq m), a prescribed
fire after clearcutting is recommended to eliminate heavy slash, set
back competition, and prepare a seedbed [27,31,46].  See FIRE EFFECTS for
further details on the influence of fire on regeneration.

Sapling stands provide the most browse for deer [26].  Overbrowsing can
retard the growth and even kill a tree if it is less than 7 feet (2.1 m)
tall [2].  A high browse line is frequently evident on larger trees [9].
Fifteen to twenty percent annual usage of foliage might maintain a
constant food supply and still permit a suitable growth rate for
saplings [2].  Thinning of stands improves deer habitat and timber
quality [18].

Northern white-cedar is relatively free of serious insect injury.  The
principal pests are arborvitae leafminer (Argyresthia thuiella) and
black and red carpenter ants (Camponotus pennsylvanicus and C.
ferrugineus).  Northern white-cedar is affected by few serious diseases
[26].

Higher than normal water levels will reduce growth and eventually kill
trees.  Beaver damming and road construction are often responsible for
impeded drainage [26,27].

Related categories for Species: Thuja occidentalis | Northern White-Cedar