Forests produce a wide range of values and benefits, including fiber for wood and paper products.  Trees must be harvested to supply raw material for the products required by society.  Currently, the amount of wood grown in the United States is more than double the amount harvested.

Proper forest management is essential to assure an adequate supply of wood in the future.  The harvesting of trees will only have long-term benefits to society if the potential for renewal of forests is successfully evaluated, implemented and achieved.

The popular term “timbering” lends an industrial connotation to the practice of harvesting forest trees.  Most landowners have the option of harvesting and selling their trees.  Timber harvesting only becomes an important part of forest management when all the significant biological, economic and social factors are considered.  The continuation of sound forest management practices throughout the life of the forest is needed to promote its health and productivity.

 

Determining When To Harvest Trees

Considering the Landowners’ Goals and Objectives-- Forest ecosystems are managed for a wide variety of benefits, including timber production, wildlife habitat, recreational opportunities, scenic beauty and water resources.

            It is the responsibility of the forester to design a program of treatments for a forest that will meet the goals and objectives of the landowner.  Some of the actions recommended are aimed at controlling the growth of the trees, while other practices alter the type or quality of trees that are present.  These methods are called thinning and timber stand improvement, respectively.  Trees removed during these treatments are often used to produce valuable wood products.  At other times, some trees are deadened and left standing, where they provide wildlife habitat and return nutrients to the soil through their decay.  Another group of treatments are the various cutting practices in which mature trees are removed in order to allow for regrowth of new trees and to provide an economic return to the landowner.

Important Biological Concepts – There are many factors that influence the growth of both individual trees and the changes that take place in groups (or stands) of trees.  Some species of trees are fast-growing and some are slow-growing.  Growth rate is also related to the ability of a tree species to grow in the shade beneath mature trees.  Only a few species are tolerant of shade; these species can survive and grow while receiving only a small amount of sunlight.  Other important factors affecting growth are the requirements of a given tree species for water and mineral nutrients.  For instance, many species of oaks and pines grow in places where moisture and nutrients are lacking, while maples, ashes and yellow-poplar are found where the growing conditions are much better.  Foresters understand these ecological principles underlying tree growth, and they use this knowledge to plan the best treatments for forest stands.

 

Methods Of Regenerating Forest Stands

            Trees do not live forever.  At some point, the older, mature trees will die and be replaced by younger, faster-growing trees.  Thus, each stand of trees may be harvested to regenerate a young stand or be allowed to replace itself naturally after a disturbance.

 

Even-aged Versus Uneven-aged Management  - One of the major management choices that needs to be made is whether or not to plan on conducting repeated harvests of individual trees from a particular stand.  This approach creates a stand with several age classes of trees.  Foresters refer to this scheme as an uneven-aged management system.  The other option is to establish a new stand of trees of all the same age by cutting the entire old stand at one time or over a short period of time.  This technique is often referred to as even-aged management.

 

Regeneration Methods – There are at least four major methods used to regenerate forest stands in Ohio (Figure 1).  In addition, many different variations on these methods exist in order to fit particular circumstances. 

            Two different practices are used to create even-aged stands.  Clearcutting is used to remove the entire stand at one time, thus permitting the establishment of a new young stand.  This method is appropriate for shade-intolerant, fast-growing tree species, such as pines and yellow-poplar.  Foresters either permit the area to be revegetated naturally from seeds dispersed by the wind or animals, or they plant seedlings by hand or with the aid of machines.  In some cases, new trees grow from buds on the stumps or root systems of the trees that have fallen.

            The other technique used in Ohio to establish even-aged stands is the shelterwood method.  When this method is used, trees are gradually removed in a series of cuttings, while some trees remain to provide both the shelter and possibly the seeds that are needed to regenerate a new young stand.  This is often the most visually appealing way to create an even-aged stand.

            The selection method is used to maintain an uneven-aged forest stand.  Individual trees or small groups of trees are harvested at regular intervals with the goal of promoting a balanced distribution of size and age classes.  A new group of shade-tolerant young trees becomes established each time some of the larger trees are harvested.  With this method, the area is always covered with trees of many sizes.  This permits a wide variety of benefits and values, including an aesthetically pleasing appearance.

 

 

 

Economic and Social Issues

            Understanding and balancing the economic, social, political and biological factors that influence forest management is critical and challenging.  These factors influence both landowners and natural resource managers at all levels.

            In Ohio, the diverse public has many values and backgrounds.  Traditional pioneer values of “living off the land” and woodland clearing for agriculture have been replaced by those of enjoying wildlands and protecting them from depletion.  Forests are becoming appreciated more and their management is under greater public scrutiny than in the past.  Sometimes harvesting methods are questioned, including the relative values and benefits of harvesting trees compared to other uses.  Much of the objection to harvesting arises from an aesthetic and emotional attachment to what is perceived as a pristine and dwindling resource.  Support for timber harvesting as a forest management practice comes from a variety of sectors, including professional foresters representing different landowners.  The majority of people are neither outwardly supportive nor staunchly opposed to timber harvesting.  The public does, however, have an important role in determining forest management practices on public and private lands.

 

Concerns about Timber Harvesting - Despite its value in regenerating even-aged stands of shade-intolerant trees species, the emphasis on clearcutting has changed in recent years.  For many reasons, foresters have been exploring different variations and modifications of this regeneration practice.  Clearcutting has become less commonly used in highly visible or scenic areas, and clearcuts are smaller and shaped to fit into the landscape.  When the clearcutting method is not chosen, other even-aged practices such as shelterwood may be used, thereby reducing some of the concerns related to clearcutting.  Even-aged stands regenerate over time, but the resulting change in tree composition will considerably affect the values and benefits obtainable from the stand.

 

Planning – In light of the increasing value of forest land, planning has become much more important.  Public lands in Ohio have areas that are designated for vistas, recreation, preservation, wildlife habitat, hunting, timber harvesting, buffers, wilderness and other uses.  Likewise, private landowners are also encouraged to develop plans for their forest properties, and they must do so to receive tax credits and cost-sharing monies for improving their land.  Timber harvesting, where applicable, is included in such planning.

            Private industrial or public landowners can incorporate thinnings and other practices into their plans to improve the growth and value of their forest, and plan the necessary regeneration methods to perpetuate the forests.   The advantages of prior planning enable the landowner or manager to consider options that are both environmentally and economically sound.  For the private landowner, planning greatly reduces the chance of succumbing to enticing offers from the few unscrupulous timber buyers promising that logging would be in everyone’s best interest.  Too often, the end result of this enticement is a below-value, one-time economic benefit to the landowner in forest stands that may have produced high quality trees or even merchantable timber for many years.  Non-industrial private forestland is Ohio’s larges source of wood, and its future depends upon careful planning.

 

Conclusion

            Professional foresters are the leaders in the natural resource management field who deal with the many issues and concerns related to timber harvesting.  The harvesting of trees will continue in the future as an integral part of carefully developed plans for individual forest properties.  Scientific studies and observations by research and management foresters have yielded a wealth of information on how trees reproduce, grow, compete and survive under a variety of conditions.  This technological information is applied to the stewardship of Ohio’s forests, while the search continues for better ways to manage and ultimately regenerate these forests for the benefit of all Ohio citizens.

 

Authors

 

David M. Hix

Associate Professor

The Ohio State University

Columbus, Ohio

 

Greg B. Smith

Forest Manager, Mohican-Memorial State Forest

Ohio Department of Natural Resources

Division of Forestry

Perrysville, Ohio