Profitability of Precommercially Thinning Oak Stump Sprouts

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

Publisher： Society of American Foresters

ISSN： 0742-6348

Source： Northern Journal of Applied Forestry, Vol.10, Iss.4, 1993-12, pp. : 179-183

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Abstract

Thinning oak stump sprouts to a single stem at an early age will increase diameter growth of the released stem. However, precommercial 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 situations within the Ozark Region, precommercial thinning of oak stump sprouts is not an economical management practice. North. J. Appl. For. 10(4):179-183.