Profitability of Precommericially Thinning Oak Stump Sprouts

Thinning oak stump sprouts to a single stem at an early age will increase diameter growth of the released stem. However, percommercial thinning represents a substantial investment which must be carried for many years before any returns are realized. We estimated the incremental gains in yield and the present net worth for five crop-tree release treatments of 5-yr-old coppice sprouts in the southeastern Missouri Ozarks and compared them to the results from unthinned control plots. The treatments involved thinning 100, 150, 200, 250, and all clumps of sprouts on the plots to a single stem. All thinning treatments increased diameter growth and yield compared to the control, but at a 5% rate of return, the control treatment produced the largest present net worth. We have concluded that based on the growth response and timber price situation within the Ozark Region, precommercial thinning of oak stump sprouts is not an economical management practice. North. J. appl. For. 10(4): 179-183. 1993 This article is in PDF format (file size: 655 kb). To download this article, right click on the link immediately below and choose "save target as". To view the article, left click the link immediately below.
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Profitability of Precommericially Thinning Oak Stump Sprouts   (1993)

Thinning oak stump sprouts to a single stem at an early age will increase diameter growth of the released stem. However, percommercial thinning represents a substantial investment which must be carried for many years before any returns are realized. We estimated the incremental gains in yield and the present net worth for five crop-tree release treatments of 5-yr-old coppice sprouts in the southeastern Missouri Ozarks and compared them to the results from unthinned control plots. The treatments involved thinning 100, 150, 200, 250, and all clumps of sprouts on the plots to a single stem. All thinning treatments increased diameter growth and yield compared to the control, but at a 5% rate of return, the control treatment produced the largest present net worth. We have concluded that based on the growth response and timber price situation within the Ozark Region, precommercial thinning of oak stump sprouts is not an economical management practice. North. J. appl. For. 10(4): 179-183.

Author: Dwyer, John P.; Dey, Daniel C.; Kurtz, William B.

Source: NJAF. Vol. 10. no. 4.:p. 179-183. (1993)

Citation: Dwyer, John P.; Dey, Daniel C.; Kurtz, William B.  1993.  Profitability of Precommericially Thinning Oak Stump Sprouts  NJAF. Vol. 10. no. 4.:p. 179-183. (1993).