Interactive Tool
Forest Restoration Planner
Enter your total trees, select a plan, and the planner calculates an ecologically balanced species breakdown. Override any species and the rest redistribute proportionally.
How the Planner Works
1. Choose an approach — Full Mix plants a complete diverse mix across all layers, scaled to your tree count. Management-First shifts weights toward species that won’t arrive in time (hickories, conifers) and auto-zeros species that arrive naturally through bird dispersal and stump-sprouting.
2. Set your total — Enter how many trees you want to plant. Full Mix scales to any number; Management-First suggests 150 (5 acres) or 250 (10 acres).
3. Override anything — Type a number in the yellow "Override" column. The other species in that group redistribute proportionally to compensate.
4. Export or print — Download your species list as a CSV or print for ordering.
Full Mix — Every ecological layer is represented. Enter your total trees and the planner scales everything automatically. For multi-year plantings, diversify every year — don't save understory and conifers for later. Weight oaks and hickories a little heavier in Year 1, but each year's order should stand alone as a complete planting. Most landowners plant 15–30 trees per year — the rate canopy gaps actually open as beech declines — so a "Full Restoration" total of ~350 trees spreads naturally across a decade rather than three years. Order in whatever annual increment matches the rate your canopy is opening. Full approach details →
Management-First is active. Group weights have shifted to emphasize hickories and conifers — the species that won’t arrive in time without planting (slow dispersal, no nearby seed source, or specific germination requirements). Oaks (0%) should be direct-seeded from nearby legacy trees at no cost. Serviceberry, hop-hornbeam, and chestnut oak are auto-zeroed — they arrive naturally through bird dispersal and stump-sprouting; when found during your survey, protect them with wire cages. Save your budget for what won’t come on its own. Full approach details →
Planned Total
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Species
Default
Your Count
Actual
Wetland species · Climate-adapted trials · Niche specialists
Shrubs — separate count, not included in tree total
Research shows diverse shrubs increase total forest biomass by 50%+ — plant alongside every plan.
Target
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Shrub Species
Default
Override
Count
Protection note: Yellow cells = plastic tube (oaks, hickories, cherry, walnut). Blue = wire cage (sugar maple, hemlock, birch, spruce, serviceberry, dogwood). PSU 2024 research: plastic tubes reach 30°F above ambient — damaging to cool-adapted species.
Group Allocation by Approach
| Ecological Group | Full Mix | Management-First | Management-First Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gap-Filling Canopy Oaks | 22% | 0% | Direct seed acorns from legacy trees — free and locally adapted |
| Moist-Slope Canopy | 15% | 25% | Sugar maple, yellow birch, basswood — won't establish without help |
| Ridge & Dry-Slope | 15% | 35% | Hickory-dominant; chestnut oak auto-zeroed (arrives naturally) |
| Pioneers / Fast-Fill | 8% | 0% | Arrive naturally via clonal spread and bird/wind seed dispersal |
| Conifers | 12% | 28% | No natural seed source at 2,000ft — must be planted |
| Understory | 15% | 7% | Pagoda dogwood only; serviceberry + hop-hornbeam arrive naturally |
| Fruiting / Flowering | 8% | 0% | Skip — budget goes to hickory and conifers first |
| Notable Specialty | 5% | 5% | Same in both approaches |