Thinning

[Skeans]

Anyone here commercial thinning or pre com thinning, what's your guys target an acre? What kinds of stands? Favor one species over another?

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[RandyMac]

Fire works well, many acres an hour.

 

[Westboastfaller]

what's your guys target an acre?

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French & metric fine with you?..lol
Lots of pre commercial back 20 to 25yrs.
Bid on assortment of activities from South tip of van I, right to the top of the pan handle in Alaska. (Barronoff Islands)
I'll have to write it out in metric first.
then convert for you as I go.
I don't remember all the density's but I do remember all the inter-tree distances in metres to hectare.

First of this is a number that's is stuck in my head for almost 30 yrs. A hectare is 100m by 100m,
two European football fields (Soccer)
This number: A Hectare is 2.471 acres. I call it 2.5 acres to the ha.
A acre is .4 ha. Easy to convert this way.
1/2acre / 1/5 ha /.2 ha

The fir & grand fir (Balsam) plantations were planted to 1400 to 1800 per ha and 500 - 700 was excepted with a 600 target. 4.4 m (about 15') spacing average was what they wanted for fir. It generally got pruned to 18.5 ft eventually.
Forestry used a 5.64 (about 18.5') metre plot cord that represented 1/100 or a ha. They usually used their hand shovel and stuck it in the ground and spun the cord from it.
So in 3 pay plots, If I were to get a 5, 7 then 6
It would rep average 600 stems per ha. Would be a bit more to it as I got a 612 average on 40 ha/ 100 acres I remember. Tighten up to half spacing on roads or natural voids.
That would look like 10% of 600 =60 × 4 = 240 per acre with 40 tree +/-variance.

If you went to the west side then that would be a goat show in dominant Hemlock In most areas.
Spacing was 3.1m (10'4") to 3.8m (12'8") on a horizontal flat.
They would use the 3.99 m plot cord a lot on hills. That represents 1/200 of a ha. I needed to eyeball 5 tree target in 4 metre circumference. 1000ha. or 400 per acre. I believe 800 to 1100 per ha
was excepted on many Hemlock stands.
In the interior I have had to space 2.5, 27, 2.9m all in one job
That was in the 1600 to 2400 range.
640 - 960 acre.
Alaska was 12ft spacing Hemlock/ Cedar/spruce

 

[1270d]

Is all the softwood thinning you guys do done by fixed measurement between stems? We use basal area prisms in hardwoods. the a1 eyeball gets to be very accurate for spacing too.

 

[Skeans]

Is all the softwood thinning you guys do done by fixed measurement between stems? We use basal area prisms in hardwoods. the a1 eyeball gets to be very accurate for spacing too.

We use basal area as well here from commercial thinning pre commercial I have no idea.

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[Westboastfaller]

What kinds of stands? Favor one species over another?

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Some of that fir was pretty big already. After the spacing on this one job I only pruned
just the best half of the 240 per acre in each plot. Then commercial thinning at half the harvest rotation (45 yrs).
leaving the 'best' according to spacing (120 per acre pruned remained.

Well if it's low lands it's going to be all spruce and Cedar planting. If fir is natural in that area then it will usually always be your #1 then Red & Yelow Cedar and spruce. Natural Hemlock or Pine on the east side of the Island; then either one could be least desirable. White pine was then $100 infraction to cut as well Western Yew on all contacts. Yew would be on the west side.
Interior dry belts has fir on the hills in areas but lots of spruce pine.
You have to go a good ways up a canal or Inlet to hit fir heading in from the West side. They can take a lot of rain and do well with the fast draining ground type he have. When they started Helli-Logging here all the banks were loaded full of 8-10 footers.

 

[Skeans]

Some of that fir was pretty big already. After the spacing on this one job I only pruned
just the best half of the 240 per acre in each plot. Then commercial thinning at half the harvest rotation (45 yrs).
leaving the 'best' according to spacing (120 per acre pruned remained.

Well if it's low lands it's going to be all spruce and Cedar planting. If fir is natural in that area then it will usually always be your #1 then Red & Yelow Cedar and spruce. Natural Hemlock or Pine on the east side of the Island; then either one could be least desirable. White pine was then $100 infraction to cut as well Western Yew on all contacts. Yew would be on the west side.
Interior dry belts has fir on the hills in areas but lots of spruce pine.
You have to go a good ways up a canal or Inlet to hit fir heading in from the West side. They can take a lot of rain and do well with the fast draining ground type he have. When they started Helli-Logging here all the banks were loaded full of 8-10 footers.

Cool and all good info maybe this will help someone with their own little place. Our Doug Fir commercial thins start at about 22 to 30 years old too many years past that and the stand has done the natural choke out.

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[Skeans]

Depending on where we are who we are working for I've done commercial thins as thin as 100 trees an acre up to 250 an acre. Typically it's Cedar #1 always left, Doug fir #2, Hemlock #3, Spruce, Alder, Maple, then Oak. We've done from 16ft logs to 26ft on a forwarder then 16ft to 40ft with a grapple cat laying long logs in the row tops toward the landing then pulp kicked out into the stand for the forwarder.

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[big hank]

Thinning in NW Montana.
#1 Western larch. #2 ponderosa pine #3 Doug fir
Most common spacing is 13-14ft
It's hard work.

 

[Skeans]

Here's a spec sheet I work with, when doing your measurements you include your row into the average trees an acre and do as many as you need.

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[Skeans]

Thinning in NW Montana.
#1 Western larch. #2 ponderosa pine #3 Doug fir
Most common spacing is 13-14ft
It's hard work.

So about 250 an acre I take?

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[big hank]

So about 250 an acre I take?

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Sounds about right.