How Do I Improve Pastures Without Damaging Trees?

[Rollochrome]

I have 12 mostly wooded acres of North Texas land.

Site is very rocky. Lots of limestone and fossils laying around with moderate soil here and there.

Most of the trees are smallish due to the shallow rock.

The drought has killed most of the larger trees too...

I want to clear dead oaks and live cedars for the purpose of helping the red oaks, live oaks, pecans, "bois darks", and other beneficial trees......as well as making more ground available for grass and hay.

Therefore I want to cultivate the soil sufficient to start getting oxygen in and making conditions good for seed to dirt contact for spring grass.

HOWEVER........I do not want to do so at the expense of the trees that I want to keep.

If I typically have shallow root systems.....will I damage the trees with a disk?

Does anyone "tread lightly" with another implement like a chain link fence drag in such conditions.....or do you just simply avoid the areas under the limb canopy?

[genebo]

Take a look at any blow-downs you have on the land to get a good picture of the root systems. You can tell how deep the roots go and how shallow they grow.

I'm betting that the roots are pretty shallow in your soil. I'd stay out from under the canopy.

The shallowest roots are usually the heaviest feeders. Damaging them in a tree that has already been stressed by drought could be bad.

[am1too]

What I'd do is put lots of organic material on top of the ground like a mulch. See if you can get leaves from town this time of year. Great stuff to keep out of the land fill. In summer get all the bagged grass you can get hold of. I'm getting all the horse stall cleanings I can haul home. In a year it has decomposed to fine material. It comes with plenty hay in it.

[oneokie]

The Bois D'arc's are the only shallow rooted tree that you listed. If you are only wanting to disturb the soil surface for seed to soil contact, the disc will work.