Tour Stop 12 - extended rotation with commercial thinning

Last updated on September 3, 2024

Opening size: 0 hectares

Summary description of key features

Silvicultural system: Extended rotation with commercial thinning
Treatment unit size: 18.6ha 
Opening size: Single trees 
Deferred areas: 350 overstorey and 150 understorey trees per ha over 80 years 
Retention structures objective: 5ha of adjacent wildlife tree patches 
Age structure: Even-aged

Stop 12 location map

Tour stops

1 2 3
4 5 6
7 8 9
10 11 12

STEMS tour main map

A view of the extended rotation with commercial thinning treatment at the following intervals:

Immediately after harvest:

year 0 after harvest for stop 12

Five years after harvest:

year 5 after harvest for stop 12

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.