ThinningsThinnings in plantations and natural timber for a variety of goals.
Thinning is when a percentage of the trees are cut to achieve
a goal, or set of goals. These goals may include improving the health and vigor
of the stand, increasing the percentage of trees that will grow into a more
valuable product class such as sawtimber or poles, reducing the rate of disease,
and/or reducing the susceptibility to pine beetle infestation. Management goals
may also include objectives not directly related to timber management such as
aesthetics, better quality range for livestock, or improved wildlife habitat.
In recent years, markets for smaller diameter trees have diminished while demand
for larger trees has risen. Smaller trees in the Southeast, while they are also
used to produce oriented strand board (OSB) and mulch, are used primarily to
make pulp and paper, and are generally classified as pulpwood trees. Larger
trees are used to make a variety of products such as lumber, plywood, and poles.
There can also be great variations within these product classes due to size and
quality – otherwise referred to as “grade”. For example: a large tree of good
grade will produce more high quality lumber than the same volume of smaller
trees of low grade.
Pine pulpwood stumpage prices are about half of what they were ten years ago
while prices for larger trees have increased due to a high demand for lumber and
other solid wood products. This means that having a high percentage of larger
diameter trees at time of harvest has become a critical part of successful
management plans. Modern thinning methods present a management option which
allows us to reduce the number of small diameter trees while keeping most of the
larger, better quality trees. The residual trees can be grown a few more years
into a stand consisted mostly of highly valuable products.
During thinning operations, trees infected with disease are removed as well as
the smaller, suppressed trees. This increases the overall health and vigor of
the stand. The susceptibility to beetle infestation becomes greatly reduced as
well. In years of extreme drought, trees compete for water and become stressed,
which may lead to severe beetle infestation. Healthy stands are much less likely
to suffer during these dry periods. Research has also shown that healthy stands
may also be more resistant to the spreading of disease.
Very often, thinning can improve the aesthetics of a timber property. It looks
better. It becomes more open and you can see. If it is burned every one to three
years, it will stay open and attain a grassy understory look |
