Operational Thinning of Young Stands For Diversity: Lessons from Contracting, Layout and Installation

Stu Johnston, Dan Karnes, US Forest Service, Florence, OR

With the implementation of the Northwest Forest Plan, The Siuslaw National Forest has shifted its stand management emphasis to enhancing the development of late-successional characteristics in young planted stands. Using structural components for late-successional forests identified in the NWFP and emerging research results as a guide, the Forest has implemented a number of techniques to meet these new management objectives while incorporating the operational and logistical realities of thinning in the Oregon coast range. These include tree selection techniques to obtain within-stand stocking variability, and creating course woody debris and snags.

Keywords: Silviculture, Thinning, Late-successional.