Selectively thinning and fertilizing timber forests

摘要

This invention relates to a method for simultaneously fertilizing and thinning commercial timber forests of which, as a general rule, the predominant population are conifers of the family Pinaceae. The trees are characterized in two groups, preferred and unpreferred, the preferred trees comprising one or more species of the conifer family Pinaceae while the unpreferred trees comprise either competing broadleaf varieties or species of the family Pinaceae which are less desirable in a given instance. Broadleaf brush and weeds can also be selectively eliminated by this procedure.PPSelective thinning and fertilization is accomplished by applying to the foliage of all of the trees, brush and weeds an aqueous nitrogenous fertilizer solution containing an amount of a nitrogen source corresponding to at least about 12.5 weight percent elemental nitrogen at a dosage level sufficient to kill a substantial proportion of the unpreferred trees and/or brush by promoting extreme foliage burning and desiccation, yet insufficient to kill a substantial number of the preferred species which, by definition, are stronger and more tolerant to these solutions.