Decorative Trees are buildable trees that can be placed in the world that can also act as a secondary source of lumber alongside trees present upon map creation.
While decorative trees grow to maturity over time and can be harvested for 7-10 lumber at maximum growth like native trees, decorative trees are not guaranteed to regrow after harvest.
Additionally, decorative trees have a positive impact on retention and refill of groundwater levels, though trees will never generate new sources of groundwater or improve groundwater *above* baseline levels.
Anecdotal Community Observations
- There have been observations of spread/regrowth of decorative trees
- This behavior may be tied to the amount of time decorative trees are allowed to spend at maturity.
- There have been observed variances of tree growth rates/yields
- Birch trees were observed as fastest growth/lowest mature yield, Oak were observed as the greatest yield/longest growth cycle.
- Variance may be attributable to other factors like soil fertility or water levels but has not been tested extensively by the community.
- There have been observed improvement to wildlife reproduction rates when Decorative Trees were planted around wildlife resource nodes (such as Deer)
Basic Strategy
Once the settlement is generating a reasonable amount of monthly gold, it is worth considering whether the current map has sufficient nearby lumber to support a growing settlement.
While Work Camps can help automate harvests in a sustainable way, drier maps like the Arid Highlands may still require additional plantings at regular intervals.
If this is the case, planting a few groves specifically for surplus lumber is recommended as early as convenient, as it will take a few years to reach full harvest output.
Additionally, trees placed around Wells will improve groundwater retention and replenishment, indirectly benefiting the well's ability to provide water access to the community.