This course is an introduction to sustainable sugarbush management, maple trees, and tapping practices. It covers maple physiology, regeneration, and stressors, including insects and diseases, as well as climate data and the potential impacts of climate change on sugarbushes. It will also discuss best practices in tapping and the impact that technology has had on the industry over the past half-century. This course will provide you with the tools to better understand your sugarbush and how current and predicted climate variations might affect it.

Topics to be covered:

• Maple Tree Biology: How sugar maples grow, store energy, and transport sap through roots, trunk, and crown.
• Science of Sap Flow and Tapping: The role of freeze–thaw cycles, tree physiology, and modern tapping guidelines for healthy syrup production.
• Tree Stress and Health: Biotic (insects, fungi, diseases) and abiotic (weather, soil, human-caused) stressors that affect maple health.
• Climate Effects on Sugarbushes: How shifting temperatures, precipitation, and extreme weather events impact maple growth and sap yield.
• Using Climate Data for Decisions: Understanding weather vs. climate, trends in the Northeast, and how to apply projections to sugarbush management.
• Industry Trends and Challenges: Current state of the maple industry, climate-related risks, sanitation, and syrup quality concerns.

Accommodations:
If you need reasonable accommodation to participate in this course, please email: extension.brightspace@maine.edu