Tour Stop 1 - patch cut
Last updated on September 3, 2024Opening size: 1.8 hectares
Summary description of key features
Silvicultural system: Patch cut
Treatment unit size: 35.7ha
Opening sizes: 3 openings, varying in size from 0.5ha to 2.0ha and totaling 3.5ha, were harvested in 2001 and another 3 openings harvested in 2011. This harvesting treatment will be repeated every 10 years over an 80 year period.
Deferred areas: 3.5ha to be cut every 10 years in 0.5ha to 2.0ha openings over 80 years
Retention structures Objective: 10ha of adjacent wildlife tree patches and individual trees
Age structure: Multi-aged
A view of the patch cut treatment at the following intervals:
Immediately after harvest:
Five years after harvest:
What is patch cutting?
The patch cut system removes all the trees from a small area within a stand. In this study area, patch size varies from 0.5 hectares (the minimum considered necessary to provide the amount of light Douglas-fir needs to develop satisfactorily) to 2 hectares (the maximum area that is visually unobtrusive). After cutting, each patch is managed as a distinct, even-aged unit, and over time, the management area becomes a multi-aged mosaic of patches.