Thinning Hardwood Plantations

Extracts from a new publication Thinning Hardwood Plantations A guide to Northern NSW by Justin Black and Andrew Simpson.

Thinning is the removal of a proportion of the trees to concentrate the growth potential of the forest on the trees with the best vigour and quality so as to increase diameter growth rate on the remaining trees. Its the Christmas tree shape that indicates vigour!!!!

Vigour

Measures That Indicate The Effect Of Competition

1. Live Crown Ratio – Depth of the living (green) crown

2. Crown Classification

D = Dominant: Larger than average trees with well developed crowns extending above the surrounding individuals.

CD = Co-dominant: Trees with crowns forming the general level of canopy

SD = Subdominant: Trees with crowns that extend into the canopy formed by the dominant and co-dominant trees.

S = Suppressed: The situation in which a tree cannot sufficiently extend its crown into the overstory to receive any direct sunlight.

3. Stand Basal Area

Basal Area is an important concept in forestry and is used to express density of a stand of trees. Basal area is the cross sectional area (over bark) of a tree at breast height and is measured in square metres.

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