Thinning Loblolly Pine in Even-Aged Stands

Abstract Second-growth or old-field southern pine stands are frequently very dense, with the individual trees so badly crowded that their rate of growth is very slow. This actual stagnation of growth brought about by intense competition, however, can usually be avoided or corrcted by a thinning, made for the specific purpose of increasing the growtb of the remaining trees. The two-fold object of increasing the rate of growth is to hasten the production of merchantable products from selected trees and to increase the total yield of the stand. In practice, a thinning generally includes also the removal of trees of undesirable species or form and trees that would otherwise die before another cutting. Thinnings are highly desirable from a silvicultural standpoint in fully stocked or overstocked stands or groups of trees, and in this connection it should be noted that stands understocked on the whole are often fully stocked or overstocked in small groups. But good silviculture is not necessarily good economics, and to a forest owner the economic aspect necessarily carries the most weight. In the following discussion, the economic aspect of thinnings is given full consideration.