Coastal Woodlands & Tree Services Inc - doug@coastalwoodlands.com

Precommercial thinning (PCT) is done in overstocked stands of younger trees to free up space and resources for selected trees and improve overall stand quality. PCT treatments are done in both natural stands and plantations. The goal is to remove less desirable trees (like non-crop species, or damaged and diseased trees) as well as create appropriate spacing in the stand for healthy, higher quality trees to grow. PCT work is generally done manually with clearing or thinning saws.

Having a woodlot management plan is an important tool for effective forest management and is a requirement for most forest certification schemes. Management plans include: the goals and objectives of the landowner, a detailed description and inventory of the woodlot (including a map), and a plan for carrying out silvicultural treatments to accomplish the landowner’s goals. The plan should be reviewed and updated every 5 to 10 years to remain relevant and to stay in line with the landowner’s wishes and needs. While it is very useful to have a registered professional forester create the management plan, it is important that the landowner be involved in the process as well to ensure that it conforms to their own unique needs and values.

In stands where natural regeneration is lacking, it is often advantageous to plant seedlings. This can be done after both even-aged management treatments (like clearcutting) and uneven-aged management treatments (like selective cutting). Desirable species are planted at specified intervals to fill in the gaps in forest vegetation and provide a continuous forest cover. Both softwood and hardwood species can be planted.

Characterized by removing the forest cover from an area where a land use change is desired by the owner, such as conversion to agricultural, commercial, or residential land. This can include removal of all forest vegetation, stumps, debris, and sometimes top soil.

Specializing in managing for, harvesting, and trucking mature logs to sell to sawmills. This can include pulp and stud wood as well.

A commercial harvest is completed with the goal of harvesting and selling the final timber product (saw logs, etc.). It is the final stage in commercial forest management, taking place several years after precommercial thinning and commercial thinning treatments.

This treatment is used to promote the growth of desirable crop trees. The trees around selected crop trees are thinned out to allow the more desirable trees more space and nutrients, which in turn can increase the health and future value of the stand.

Ideal for middle-aged stands, commercial thinning removes some of the more mature trees to allow room for others to grow, and to open up the canopy for regeneration. The trees removed are often those that are: damaged or diseased; growing too close to desirable trees; or less desirable species.

Having a woodlot map makes planning silvicultural treatments easier and gives you a better idea of what you have in your woodlot. Woodlot mapping is often done by a registered professional forester when developing a woodlot management plan, though it can be created on its own. A woodlot map shows where your boundary lines are and generally displays the different stands existing on your woodlot. Aerial photos can be useful to include with woodlot maps.

Weeding refers to the trimming or removal of small, herbaceous plants in a stand, as well as non-crop tree species, which are competing with desirable tree species. Plants like raspberry bushes can out-compete seedlings and limit their access to nutrients, sunlight, and other necessary factors for growth.

Tree removal generally refers to the removal of a single tree or very small group of trees, often in an urban setting, that is/are causing safety concerns or is/are diseased, dying, or dead. Tree removal is a service offered by arborists.

Silvicultural contractors provide a variety of woodlot management services, not just harvesting. These can include selection harvesting, thinning, road building, wildlife management, management planning, boundary line work, and many others.

Selection harvesting is a treatment used in uneven-aged forest management in which either single trees or small groups of trees are harvested at a time. The goal is to maintain the canopy of a forest stand while still being able to continually harvest timber. This is done by diversifying tree age classes, encouraging regeneration, and leaving some of the best trees as seed trees.

Pruning is a minimally invasive method of improving the quality of crop trees in a stand. Lower limbs are removed manually from selected trees to decrease problematic knots in the lumber and make them easier to harvest later on.