Trees, shrubs, bushes, and grasses are important vegetation. They:
- Provide wildlife habitat,
- Prevent soil erosion,
- Contribute to biological diversity, and
- Provide visual and sound barriers in areas of high population and traffic.
Vegetation that benefits the ecosystem and works within the objectives of your land should be cared for and encouraged.
Certain types of vegetation, however, are only considered beneficial when in desired locations and can be considered “brush” otherwise.
Brush is a general term for woody shrubs, trees, and other vegetation that are out of place given the purpose of your land and your desired goals.
Brush management
Brush management can look quite different in your area of Texas. In Central Texas, brush is more commonly considered as types of cedar, mesquite, prickly pear, and occasionally scrub oak or plum when they are out of place or overpopulated based on your land objectives.
In East Texas, brush can be dense areas of yaupon, greenbrier, grapevine, Chinese privet, Chinese tallow, or pockets of immature trees that could potentially be hindering the use of your land of densely populating areas of interest.
Although all of these species have positive benefits to the ecosystem, they can have negative effects. It is up to you to decide if the brush is wanted and should be managed accordingly or if it should be cleared to allow for other management objectives.
Brush management is best done in phases. Assess each species of vegetation and determine where and how brush should be decreased or managed. Be conservative and learn as you go.
Preventing brush
Preventing brush, long before it has established, is the most cost, labor, and time effective method of having your property operating within your desired goals and objectives.
In areas with livestock, over-grazing should be avoided. Over-grazed land is more susceptible to woody brush taking over. Tall, thick, healthy grasses will often out-compete woody seeds trying to sprout, or simply stop them from establishing in the first place.
In forested areas, proper understory control methods such as prescribed burning, chemical herbicide application, or mechanical mulching/mowing should be implemented routinely to prevent brush from establishing.
Re-emerging brush should be dealt with while it’s small and immature to reduce difficulty of control and increase effectiveness of preventative practices.
Methods of brush control
There are several ways to control brush. Using a multi-method approach will achieve best results.
Chemical
Chemical control of unwanted brush is done through herbicide application. Herbicides are a substance that is toxic to plants and is used to destroy unwanted vegetation.
Generally, chemical applications are applied in a broadcast method targeting all vegetation that encounters the chemical. However, in certain instances chemical application can be more targeted by changing the active ingredient in the herbicide/chemical or the application method.
When applying any herbicide, the directions on the label should be strictly followed, the label is the law and should not be deviated from. This will avoid any negative effects or harm to yourself or desirable plants in the area.
It is strongly encouraged that a licensed professional be used to select and apply the herbicide. If you decide to apply yourself, using resources such as Brush Busters or our Forestry Herbicide Prescriptions website is recommended to acquire some basic knowledge on herbicide selection and application.
Prescribed fire
Fire is nature’s way of controlling brush and can improve both range and forest health when used with other methods of control.
Prescribed fires reduce the encroachment of unwanted brush by consuming the young emerging vegetation before it can become established. They are best implemented in areas with lighter brush components.
A Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) certified and insured prescribed burn manager can help you develop a burn plan and conduct a safe and effective burn.
Mechanical
Mechanical control involves manipulation of vegetation using both light and heavy equipment. Such as tractors, mowers, mulchers, bulldozers, excavators, backhoes, and even chainsaws.
Mechanical control is a quick way to get your nuisance vegetation under control but can become expensive. Equipment maintenance and run time can result in higher cost per acre than other methods of control.
Heavy machinery can cause soil to erode, as well as soil compaction from rutting. Keep soil disturbances to a minimum.
This can cause nearby water resources such as creeks, ponds, and lakes to become polluted from sediment runoff, delay the reestablishment of grasses, expose rocks causing future management problems and even reduce the productivity and health of the desired vegetation in the area.
Mechanical treatments are never a single solution to brush control. Although the results are very quick and can make a property drastically different than what it was previously. Other methods of control will need to be done in conjunction with mechanical treatments or routine mechanical practices will need to be implemented. If left alone the unwanted brush and vegetation will be back within a few years.
Left over debris
There is often a substantial amount of leftover debris after cutting brush. Management of this debris should reflect your land objectives.
Examples include:
- Slowing down water on areas with steep slopes to lessen the risk of soil erosion.
- Add deer enclosures around hardwood regeneration areas to reduce the risk of predation on the young seedlings/saplings.
- Small cedar debris being used as bird and reptile shelter in more arid areas of the state.
The leftover brush can also be chipped, using mechanical chippers, or piled and burned if no other uses for the cut brush are present.
Extreme caution should be used when burning brush and should be done under the right conditions to prevent any wildfires from starting. It is recommended you contact and consult a professional for help managing your debris.