Tour Stop 12 - Extended Rotation with Commercial Thinning
Opening Size: 0 Hectares
Summary Description of Key Features
Silvicultural System: Extended Rotation with Commercial Thinning
Treatment Unit Size: 18.6 ha
Opening Size: Single trees
Deferred Areas: 350 overstorey and 150 understorey trees per ha over 80 years
Retention Structures Objective: 5 ha of adjacent wildlife tree patches
Age Structure: Even-aged
A view of the extended rotation with commercial thinning treatment at the following intervals:
Immediately after harvest:
Five years after harvest:
What is Extended Rotation with Commercial Thinning?
Extended rotation with commercial thinning is not a silvicultural system, but it provides baseline data for comparing silviculture systems. Thinning allows the remaining trees enough space to maintain high growth rates for an extended period. This process produces old-growth attributes within a relatively short time frame. The long-term replacement of old-growth forest attributes through active silvicultural measures is part of the Vancouver Island Land Use Plan for the Sayward Forest.