Stand Tending
Stand tending is a subset of silviculture that includes a variety of forest treatments, including pre-commercial thinning, fertilizing, pruning and commercial thinning, which are carried out to maintain a healthy forest and to increase the quality and quantity of timber produced.
On this page:
- Forest Fertilization
- Pruning
- Pre-Commercial Thinning or Spacing
- Commercial Thinning and Partial Cutting
Forest Fertilization
Although other silviculture treatments may redistribute volume and/or increase piece size and value, fertilization is the most proven method for increasing harvest volume and accelerating the operability of established stands. As such, fertilization is widely viewed by forest managers and practitioners as a potentially valuable tool for mitigating "pinch points" in the mid-term timber supply caused by age class imbalances, and for increasing long term harvest levels.
Pruning
Pruning of lower branches of trees in plantations and in pre-commercially thinned stands can increase stand value by reducing the size of the knotty core, thereby increasing the amount and proportion of more valuable clear (knot free) wood. Dimensional lumber that is "clear" of knots and defects has historically commanded premium prices on world markets. Pruning may also improve log and lumber value by speeding the change from lower value juvenile wood to higher value mature wood and by reducing stem taper.
- Pruning Guidebook
- Land Based Investment - Pruning Activity
- Pruning Training
- Clear Wood Values from Pruning (PDF)
Pre-Commercial Thinning or Spacing
Terminology such as "juvenile thinning," "juvenile spacing," "spacing" and "pre-commercial thinning" generally refers to cuttings made in immature stands with the objective of reducing stand density in order to stimulate the growth of the remaining crop. Thinning affects the size and growth of individual trees and also the growth per unit area of the stand itself. The timing and intensity of juvenile thinning has large potential impacts on the amount, size and value of timber harvested from managed forests and on biological and technical rotation lengths. By preventing, or alleviating, height repression, juvenile thinning in extremely dense stands may provide a more reliable estimate of site potential as represented by site index.
- Spacing Guidebook
- Land Based Investment Spacing Activity
- Spacing Training
- Forest Health Decision Keys Coastal (PDF)
- Forest Health Decision Keys Interior (PDF)
- Spacing to Increase Diversity Within Stands (PDF)
- How to Use a Stand Density Management Diagram - Getting the Stand and Site Data (PDF)
- How to Use a Stand Density Management Diagram - Yield Predictions for a Spacing Prescription (PDF)
- Guidelines for Developing Stand Density Management Regimes (PDF)
Commercial Thinning and Partial Cutting
Commercial thinning is a partial cutting treatment applied to immature forests where the value to the province exceeds the cost of the treatment. Commercial thinning applies to even-aged forest stands and is an interim treatment that exists in the context of a broader stand management regime to provide for specific prescribed stand volume and value attributes over time. Value may be economic as a measure of quality and quantity of fibre in the future, providing ecological function or social in nature as a steady flow of fibre for producers.
Commercial thinning (CT) may help offset short- and mid-term timber supply shortfalls experienced in some Interior management units (e.g., Timber Supply Areas and Tree Farm Licences) by providing redistribution of timber flow at the landscape level by breaking up large areas of THLB in similar age classes. There is also a societal focus on the health, condition, and overall resilience of our forests and CT may contribute to this goal.
- Interim Guidance for Commercial Thinning - Interior British Columbia (2021) (PDF)
- Release of Commercial Thinning Guidance Memo (PDF)
- Provincial Commercial Thinning Project FAQ (PDF)
- Interior Reference Guide - Field Supplements (PDF)
- Information to supply for a custom growth and yield (TASS) simulation of a candidate stand (XLS)
- Guidelines for Commercial Thinning (1999) (PDF)
- Partial Cutting Overview of Ministry Material (PDF)
- Forest Level Benefits to Commercial Thinning and Fertilization - SIL439 (PDF)
- Tree wounding and partial-cut harvesting: a literature review for British Columbia (PDF)