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-year-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 percent rate of return the control treatment produced the largest present net worth. We have concluded that based upon the growth response and timber price situations within the Ozark Region, precommercial thinning of oak stump sprouts is not an economical management practice.
Parent Publication
Citation
Dwyer, John P.; Dey, Daniel C.; Kurtz, William B. 1993. Profitability of precommercially thinning oak stump sprouts. In: Gillespie, Andrew R.; Parker, George R.; Pope, Phillip E.; Rink, George: eds. Proceedings of the 9th Central Hardwood Forest Conference; Gen. Tech. Rep. NC-161. St. Paul, MN: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, North Central Forest Experiment Station: 373-380