Dynamics of the diameter distribution after selection cutting in uneven- and even-aged northern hardwood stands: a long-term evaluation

Selection cutting is defined as a tool for uneven-aged silviculture. Dependence on diameter distribution by forestry practitioners for identifying stand conditions has led to misuse of selection-like cuttings in even-aged northern hardwood stands. Our study used several long-term data sets to investigate the temporal stability in numbers of trees per diameter class in uneven-aged northern hardwood stands treated with single-tree selection and in 45-year-old second-growth stands treated with selection-like cuttings. We analyzed data from New York, Michigan, and Wisconsin to determine changes through time in number of trees across 2.5 cm diameter classes, shifts in the shape and scale of the three-parameter Weibull function used to describe the diameter distributions, and dynamics of associated stand attributes. Findings showed that single-tree selection cutting created and sustained stable diameter distributions and uniformity of conditions through consecutive entries in unevenaged stands. By contrast, these characteristics varied through time in the second-growth stands that had been treated with selection-like cuttings. Analysis also showed that the Weibull shape and scale parameters for stands under selection system migrated towards those of the recommended target diameter distribution in the uneven-aged stands. These parameters diverged from the target with repeated use of selection-like cuttings in the second-growth even-aged stands.