Bad Trees Make Bad Seeds

There is a wide array of legitimate objectives to consider when planning a timber harvest.

The objectives of a timber harvest often include but are not limited to preventing soil erosion, providing quality saw-timber, pulpwood, firewood and other wood products and to improve the overall quality and future potential of the woods through proper management.

Strategic Tree Removal

In addition to mature, financially-valuable trees, certain trees should also be removed from the genetic makeup of the woods, so as to improve overall stand quality and value. Removing trees with inferior traits such as low limbs and crooked stems will improve the overall genetic makeup of the woods.

In particular, the lower quality trees that should also be considered for removal to facilitate proper Timber Stand Improvement objectives include:

1. Suppressed trees that will not live until the next thinning
2. Trees too crooked, forked, or limby to make a No. 2 sawlog
3. Trees with fire scars and injuries from insects, disease, wind, or ice
4. Trees on the wrong site (such as a water oak growing on a ridge)
5. Trees that are mature and slow-growing
6. Any tree that will not contribute to the net value of the stand at the next thinning
7. Wolf trees with large crowns that occupy too much growing space or shade out more desirable species

By developing a comprehensive forest management plan, Timber Works will not only help you generate a financial return from the harvesting of your standing timber, but we will ensure that your woods will be healthier, better-stocked and more capable of additional financial returns in the future.

Since every piece of timber is unique, there is no one forest-management plan that works best in all situations. That’s why it’s essential to allow a reputable company to help develop a plan with you, educating along the way and helping you make an informed decision about the future of your timber.

Through properly executing a forest management plan you will be moving your woods towards stocks of high quality trees, faster growing trees and some mast and den trees for wildlife. Proper harvesting also spaces trees in such a way as to maximize their growth potential.

Genetic Culling of Poor Quality Trees

While it sometimes seems counter-intuitive, our professional forester will mark certain small or low quality trees for removal in keeping with the forest-management objectives outlined above. You see, bad trees make bad seeds, so removing these trees, improves the quality of the stand of timber over time.