Harvesting
Commercial Thinning
This treatment is performed in a mature stand with removal of thirty to fifty percent (30-50%) of the total volume allowing the best quality trees to remain and expand their crown areas and stem diameter. This operation is usually undertaken in stands in which the crop trees are intended for future saw-logs.
Shelterwood Systems
The removal of a mature overstorey in increments to allow establishment & development of a desired species or combination of species. This operation is most beneficial in stands with longer lived species such as red spruce, hemlock, white pine, sugar maple & yellow birch. The amount of overstory to be removed is dependent upon the growth stage of the understory. Options may include a two or three stage removal over a ten to fifteen year period. The first harvest usually removes about thirty per cent (30%) of the volume of the stand while leaving the best seed & shade trees, which allows increased light and temperature levels at the forest floor, factors needed to encourage seedling establishment and growth. The final harvest is undertaken to remove all the overstory volume & allow free growth of the new crop.
Selection Managed
This treatment consists of the harvesting of the poorest quality trees in an uneven aged stand before mortality renders them unmarketable. The stand should be in a better overall condition when this treatment is completed and allows for natural regeneration to become established where individual or groups of trees have been harvested. Such an operation allows the stand to remain uneven aged and provides a sustainable yield of wood volume every few years.
There may be funding available for certain forestry treatments. Contact us to see what’s possible for your woodlot.