Published July 1961. Facts and recommendations in this publication may no longer be valid. Please look for up-to-date information in the OSU Extension Catalog: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog
Thinning is removing selected trees from a stand to allow others to
continue growing. Ordinarily, a woodland manager uses a thinning
system that encourages the remaining trees to grow in a manner
consistent with the manager’s objectives for those trees.
In site index studies, the hypothesis that height
growth of most conifers is independent of stand density
is commonly accepted. However, some studies have shown
height growth to be influenced by density particularly
on medium to poor sites.
In this study two locations representing a high
quality site (Hoskins area,...
Harvesting costs were determined for commercial thinning of young stands to
achieve vegetation and wildlife objectives. This included replicated comparisons of
thinning treatments. Treatments were defined based on residual tree stocking after
thinning. Study procedures were developed and evaluated to improve statistical
relevance. Multiple linear regression models were used to...
A 20-year-old Douglas-fir [Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco] stand in the Oregon Coast Range was thinned from about 1,700 to about 350 trees/ac. Subsequent thinnings, under eight different regimes, occurred at ages 23, 27, 30, and 32. Average net periodic cubic-volume growth was strongly influenced by thinning regime, varying from about...
Across western Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia, forest management practices over the past century reduced the amount of late-successional forest while
simultaneously increasing the amount of young (less than 80 years old), managed
Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) dominated forests. Recently, concerns over loss of late-successional habitat pushed management objectives on public...
Thinning has the potential to increase structural diversity of managed forests for wildlife. During 1994-1996, I conducted experimental and observational studies using pitfall trapping to assess short-term and potential long-term effects of thinning on abundance and reproduction of forest-floor vertebrates in Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menzeisii) forests of the Oregon Coast Range....
Modified selection thinning has been utilized by some non-industrial foresters in Douglas-fir forests of Western Oregon and Washington for at least 35 years. This silvicultural strategy has not been tested, but has often been associated with reduced volume production and other undesirable effects. It continues to be used on many...
