clinchscavalry
ArboristSite Operative
I realize that forest management, logging, and markets differ dramatically from one part of the country to the next, but I thought it would be interesting to see what goes on from region to region when it comes to partial harvests or thinnings.
Around here, in the SE, we do a good deal of pine plantation management, and much of it is on relatively easy topography. In fact, many acres have been planted on former farm land.
In years past, most of the thinnings were marked by foresters, technicians, landowners, and even some timber buyers. However, about 15 years ago, or thereabouts, things changed quite dramatically. I would venture to say that 75% or more of our thinnings are done by the logger. The feller buncher operator decides what trees to leave and what trees to cut. This trend is largely due to the economy, increased costs and declining timber prices. Many foresters in our region make most of their livelihood from timber sales, and other work like inventories, burning, appraisals, etc. contributes a positive cash flow, but just barely. It has gotten too labor intensive and costly for many to mark individual trees, and the rule is to just show the area to be thinned, perhaps give a little instruction as to desired residual basal area and flag or paint around the sale area.
In fact, "operator select" is about the only method of thinning that young foresters and many landowners even know about, it has become that common.
I am an old fart with over 38 years experience in the woods, and I have an idea, right or wrong, of what works and what doesn't. My opinion is that the first thinning in a pine plantation is by far the most important one since it determines what the crop trees will be for the entire rotation. Furthermore, I don't believe anyone can adequately examine each tree to determine which ones need to be cut and left from the seat of a machine. I have enough trouble walking around them on the ground, with sun in my eyes, fighting bugs, snakes, briars, vines, heat and still trying to generate some semblance of production. I have seen both good and bad examples of operator select jobs with the best looking aesthetically good with well spaced trees and the worst being nothing more than a "high grading" operation.
Precious little research has been done comparing operator select to a marked thinning, but the results are quite revealing, indicating that a marked stand has a net present value 30% higher than the same stand after an operator select harvest. This figure is subject to change drastically should the stumpage value differences between product classes move upward in favor of more valuable timber. If everything was always pulpwood and priced accordingly, then the difference would obviously be less, although cutting dominant and co-dominant trees and leaving intermediate and suppressed is still more likely in an operator select situation.
So, what say the rest of you ? I'm sure some loggers think operator select is just as good as a marked thinning, and some foresters would never even entertain the thought of actually marking individual trees for harvest. For what it's worth, every logger I've ever worked with likes working on a tract where I laid out skid trails, decks and marked either take out or leave trees.
I will go so far as to say that I believe any registered forester who allows operator select thinnings is guilty of malpractice and should lose his or her license:msp_mad:
Let the discussion beginopcorn:
Around here, in the SE, we do a good deal of pine plantation management, and much of it is on relatively easy topography. In fact, many acres have been planted on former farm land.
In years past, most of the thinnings were marked by foresters, technicians, landowners, and even some timber buyers. However, about 15 years ago, or thereabouts, things changed quite dramatically. I would venture to say that 75% or more of our thinnings are done by the logger. The feller buncher operator decides what trees to leave and what trees to cut. This trend is largely due to the economy, increased costs and declining timber prices. Many foresters in our region make most of their livelihood from timber sales, and other work like inventories, burning, appraisals, etc. contributes a positive cash flow, but just barely. It has gotten too labor intensive and costly for many to mark individual trees, and the rule is to just show the area to be thinned, perhaps give a little instruction as to desired residual basal area and flag or paint around the sale area.
In fact, "operator select" is about the only method of thinning that young foresters and many landowners even know about, it has become that common.
I am an old fart with over 38 years experience in the woods, and I have an idea, right or wrong, of what works and what doesn't. My opinion is that the first thinning in a pine plantation is by far the most important one since it determines what the crop trees will be for the entire rotation. Furthermore, I don't believe anyone can adequately examine each tree to determine which ones need to be cut and left from the seat of a machine. I have enough trouble walking around them on the ground, with sun in my eyes, fighting bugs, snakes, briars, vines, heat and still trying to generate some semblance of production. I have seen both good and bad examples of operator select jobs with the best looking aesthetically good with well spaced trees and the worst being nothing more than a "high grading" operation.
Precious little research has been done comparing operator select to a marked thinning, but the results are quite revealing, indicating that a marked stand has a net present value 30% higher than the same stand after an operator select harvest. This figure is subject to change drastically should the stumpage value differences between product classes move upward in favor of more valuable timber. If everything was always pulpwood and priced accordingly, then the difference would obviously be less, although cutting dominant and co-dominant trees and leaving intermediate and suppressed is still more likely in an operator select situation.
So, what say the rest of you ? I'm sure some loggers think operator select is just as good as a marked thinning, and some foresters would never even entertain the thought of actually marking individual trees for harvest. For what it's worth, every logger I've ever worked with likes working on a tract where I laid out skid trails, decks and marked either take out or leave trees.
I will go so far as to say that I believe any registered forester who allows operator select thinnings is guilty of malpractice and should lose his or her license:msp_mad:
Let the discussion beginopcorn: