Tour Stop 1 - Patch Cut
Last updated on June 26, 2019Opening Size: 1.8 Hectares
Summary Description of Key Features
Silvicultural System: Patch Cut
Treatment Unit Size: 35.7 ha
Opening Sizes: 3 openings, varying in size from 0.5 to 2.0 ha and totaling 3.5 ha, 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: 3.5 ha to be cut every 10 years in 0.5 - 2.0 ha openings over 80 years
Retention Structures Objective: 10 ha 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.