Silviculture Program
Pre-Commercial Thinning
Pre-commercial thinning has one of the best returns on investment of all forest management activities. In order to get a good rate of return, the timing of the thinning is critical; if it is done too early, competition will establish in the open areas and compete for light and nutrients with the desired species; if left too late, the crop trees will not release properly (they will not respond with an increase in growth after thinning). As a general rule, the trees must be between 2-7 meters in height and have more than 10,000 stems per hectare in order to qualify for pre-commercial thinning. The government will pay 90% of the cost of thinning on areas that qualify for treatment.
This is an excellent program with wide appeal. There are few woodlots that cannot take advantage of pre-commercial thinning since most naturally established stands will regenerate with too many seedlings. If nature is left to thin the stand through natural selection, the stand will go into a period of "stagnation" in which no growth, or even negative growth will occur. By interveneing at the right time, this stagnation can be avoided and growth will actually continue to accelerate until the stand reaches maturity and is ready to be harvested.
This is an excellent program with wide appeal. There are few woodlots that cannot take advantage of pre-commercial thinning since most naturally established stands will regenerate with too many seedlings. If nature is left to thin the stand through natural selection, the stand will go into a period of "stagnation" in which no growth, or even negative growth will occur. By interveneing at the right time, this stagnation can be avoided and growth will actually continue to accelerate until the stand reaches maturity and is ready to be harvested.
Site Preparation
After harvesting, a technician will visit the site of the proposed planting project and determine if site preparation is necessary. Site Preparation has two purposes, one is to make it possible for a person to walk the site and plant at the required spacing, and two is to properly prepare the soil to recieve a seedling so it will have an improved chance of survival by reducing frost heaving and competition, and increasing access to nutrients.
Planting
Following a harvest operation, not all stands will regenerate naturally in a reasonable amount of time, or with desired species. Planting, then, becomes a viable alternative for the woodlot owner. Planting gives the land owner control over the species and the spacing of the final crop, two critical pieces governing the quality and quantity of the products harvested. However, planting is not without its challenges. Often it is not a simple matter of deciding to plant an area, since some degree of site preparation may be required before planting, and depending upon the plant species already established on the site, it may be obvious that competition control will be required later. The woodlot owner must, therefore, be willing to do all the things necessary to make a plantation a success or there is no point starting (it will simply be a waste of time and money).
Plantation Cleaning
Plantation cleaning is a very important component of managing your plantations wisely. Many undesirable tree and shrub species grow within a plantation. These species, such as hardwoods, produce suckers which are supported by a large, well established root system. These hardwood suckers rob the planted trees of important nutrients needed for growth. Also, these hardwoods exhibit rapid growth rates and begin to overtop the planted trees and compete for sunlight. If a plantation is not cleaned when needed, the planted trees will die or stagnate for many years. A plantation cleaning is applied under similar conditions as a natural stand when it is time for a pre-commercial thinning. Properly conducted, a plantation cleaning will help the crop trees produce superior growth rates compared to natural stands on the same site, giving the land manager a shorter rotation period which results in a greater return per acre per year.