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This book was developed by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation
Service as an aid in identifying trees and shrubs and to aid in
their use for conservation purposes.
Many of the trees and shrubs are growing at or near one of more
of the plant materials centers operated by the Natural Resources
Conservation Service nationwide. These centers develop plants for
conservation uses and release to commercial growers for public use.
Some of the tree or shrub cultivars that have been developed and
released by the Natural Resources Conservation Service are named
in this guide.
Natural Resources Conservation Service
foresters and plant materials specialists helped compile the information
in this guide.
The following documents are
available in
Adobe
Acrobat format.
If you are having problems with the download, try downloading each
section separately.
 Download
the entire Guide (5.7MB)
Download
only the Introduction (500 KB)
Download
only the tree identification section (3.3
MB)
Download
only the shrub identification section (1.7
MB)
Advice on tree and shrub planting, care and conservation uses is
available at no cost. The Natural Resources Conservation Service,
the Extension Service, state forestry agencies, conservation districts
and private nurseries have specific information. Information is
also available from the USDA Forest Service.
In many cases, at least partial funding is available to plant trees
and shrubs for conservation purposes. Local offices of the agencies
listed above have details.
- Cut soil erosion
Rows of trees
break the wind on flatter lands and healthy forests protect
soil from water erosion on hillsides.
- Improve
air & water quality
A forest floor
of leaves and decaying wood acts as a giant sponge by
absorbing, holding and filtering water; one acre of trees
provides fresh, clean oxygen for seven people and will
clean the air polluted by eight cars operated for 12 hours.
- Increase
income
Properly managed
trees can provide excellent sources of income, such as
the sale of trees or wood products.
- Save
energy
Recent studies
show windbreaks can reduce winter fuel consumption by
10 to 30 percent. Trees also save energy by shading --
one tree has the cooling effect of five air conditioners.
- Protect
livestock
Trees reduce
the wind and can significantly reduce animal stress. Livestock
not only need less feed, but their gains are higher. Shade
provided by trees is also helpful to animals on very hot
summer days.
- Sound
barrier
Trees and windbreaks
reduce noise from high-speed traffic and other sounds.
Plant leaves, branches and twigs all absorb sounds of
different frequencies.
- Home
for wildlife
Wooded areas
make valuable cover, nesting and breeding areas for upland
game and songbirds. In winter, when all other food is
blanketed with snow, seeds and fruits of trees and shrubs
provide food for nonmigratory species.
- Living
snow fence
In snow country,
properly locating a living fence of trees and shrubs parallel
to your driveway or highway helps hold snow on the fields
and off the roads.
- Improve
crop yields
Soil particles
blown by strong winds frequently damage small crops. Yields
also may be lowered by the effects of hot winds. Trees
protect against these hazards.
- Beautify
the countryside
Well-kept wooded
areas, windbreaks and other tree plantings undeniably
enhance the aesthetic value of individual farms and the
countryside.
- Fence from livestock
- Water in early morning
hours as necessary during early growth
- Cultivate, mulch
or spray to control weeds
- Protect small trees
from rodents
- Thin weaker trees
from old plantings
- Prune only damaged
limbs
- Correctly identify
specific insect or disease problems before treatment
- Keep roots
moist at all times.
- Dig a hole
as deep and twice as wide as the roots.
- Place the seedling
in the center of the hole.
- Fill the hole with
moist soil, firming the soil around the roots by hand. Be sure
there are no air pockets.
Windbreaks — rows of trees and
shrubs — slow the wind to protect farmsteads, crops, livestock
and homes. A windbreak on three sides of a building can cut annual
fuel bills by as much as 30 percent, reducing wind chill in winter
and making shade in the summer. Livestock are similarly protected;
young crops in fields are protected from hot, dry winds and the
sand blasting effects of blowing soil.
Tree and shrub windbreaks are habitat for wildlife. They beautify
the landscape, stop blowing snow, screen out noise and dust and
serve as living privacy fences.
The Plant Hardiness Zone
Map below was drawn from one issued by the US Department of Agriculture
in 1990. Adapted from earlier versions, the map's zones represent
average annual minimum temperature ranges.
Trees and shrubs in this guide list a hardiness zone, the coldest
zone in which the tree or shrub normally succeeds. No effort was
made to identify southernmost zones for heat adaptability or for
range of adaptability
The Plant "Cold" Hardiness Zone is an indicator, and should
not be used as the sole source to determine whether a particular
tree or shrub will survive in a specific location.
Silvics of North America, USDA Forest Service, Agriculture
Handbook 654, December 1990.
Manual of Woody Landscape Plants, Dirr., Michael A., Third
Edition, Stipes Publishing Company, Champaign, IL, 1983, 825 pp.
Forest Trees of Illinois, Mohlenbrock, Robert H., Fourth
Edition, Illinois Department of Conservation, 1983, 32 pp.
Native Woody Plants of the United States, Van Dersal, William
R., Misc Publ. 303, United States Government Printing Office, Washington,
D.C., 1938
Trees Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southwest, Vines, Robert
A., University of Texas Press, Austin, 1960.
Knowing Your Trees, Collingwood, G.H. and Brush, Warren D.,
The American Forestry Association, 1978.
Textbook of Dendrology, Harlow, William M. and Harrar, Ellwood
S., McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., 1958.
Native Trees for Urban and Rural America, Hightshoe, Gary
L., Iowa State University Research Foundation, 1978.
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