Twenty-Eight Years of Thinning at Several Intensities in a High-Site Douglas-Fir Stand in Western Washington

Abstract A 28-year thinning study in a dense, natural, high-site coastal Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) stand compared three thinning treatments and an unthinned control. Gross, net, and total recoverable periodic cubic volume increments from the control treatment were not significantly different from the highest yielding thinned treatment. An increasing reserve basal area thinning treatment was the least severe thinning treatment and produced the highest gross, net, and total recoverable periodic increments of the thinning treatments. Commercial thinnings of dense or fully stocked plantations of Douglas-fir may produce similar results: vigorous stands with rapid growth potential. West. J. Appl. For. 5(2):37-40, April 1990.