Proceedings: Central Hardwood Forest Conference (17th). Held in Lexington, Kentucky on April 5-7, 2010.

摘要

Plot data from 6,727 fully stocked oak-hickory stands were selected from Forest Inventory and Analysis data from fi ve ecoregions common to West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio. Each plot was thinned from below using an existing thinning algorithm, where 30, 50, and 70 percent of the existing basal area was removed. Th ese thinning strategies were selected to capture most thinning intensities applied in this region. Utilizing three (low, average, and high) delivered pulpwood and sawtimber values and estimated harvesting and transportation costs from the ECOST simulator, we determined net thinning value for two cut-to-length (CTL) systems and two feller buncher systems. Net thinning value increased with increasing thinning intensity, higher pricing levels, and use of feller-bunchers. Under the low pricing scenario, neither CTL system was profi table based on average net value per acre. Th e feller buncher systems possessed, on average, a slightly positive net value with little diff erence exhibited by thinning intensity. An attempt was made to isolate those stand variables that would correctly identify profi table thinning scenarios. Th e main problem with quadratic mean diameter (QMD) and the other stand variables explored, is that negative thinning values are found across the range of the stand variable examined. Under higher price regimes and heavier thinning intensities, however, value tends to increase directly with the stand QMD.