Silvical requirements for natural birch regeneration

Young stands of either paper birch or yellow birch are relatively scarce in the northern hardwood region today, primarily because birch has not regenerated with the silvicultural practices used over the past 30 or 40 years. Where light cuttings and uneven-aged management have been used, the birches have gradually been eliminated in favor of more tolerant species. By now, I think most of us would agree that some form of even-aged management is required where we want to grow large proportions of the birches.