Timber Harvesting Treatments Defined

Each demonstration site consists of treatment blocks introducing landowners and the general public to different methods of timber harvesting along with their benefits and consequences. The different harvesting treatments are:

Deer Exclusions

The deer exclusion fence (left side) demonstrates white-tail deer impact on tree regrowth. The area was harvested in 1994 and deer have prevented tree regrowth.

At most sites a deer exclusion fence has been constructed adjacent to each treatment. This 20 foot square area is designed to demonstrate the effect of uncontrolled white-tailed deer browsing outside the fenced area. The fences were installed immediately after harvesting in 1994.

Timber Harvesting Treatments

	Control area - an untreated area used as a standard for comparison against the results of treatments on other areas.
	Clearcut - a harvesting and regeneration technique that removes all trees, regardless of size, on an area in one operation.
	Conifer release - establishes and maintains 5-10% of the forested area in evergreen habitat for wildlife
	Croptree - a thinning directed solely at those trees identified as crop trees. Only those trees competing directly with a crop tree are removed.
	40% density - trees of all sizes are removed to achieve 40% of relative density compared to the initial undisturbed stand
	60% density - trees of all sizes are removed to achieve 60% of relative density compared to the initial undisturbed stand
	80% density - trees of all sizes are removed to achieve 80% of relative density compared to the initial undisturbed stand
	Group selection - removes trees in 0.1 to 1.0 acre areas to create openings in the forest canopy.
	Improvement thinning - cutting poorer quality and defective trees to foster growth in the quality residual trees.
	Shelterwood - removes both small and some large trees. The trees left serve as a seed source and favors trees that require less than full sunlight to regenerate.
	Thinning from above - a diameter-based thinning reduces the stocking to about 60% by removing all trees larger than a calculated diameter. It is also called high grading.
	Thinning from below - a diameter-based thinning reduces the stocking to about 60% by removing all trees smaller than a calculated diameter.
	Thinning from the middle - a diameter-based thinning reduces the stocking to about 60% by calculating and removing mid-diameter trees

• Bald Eagle
• Forbes
• Freeman
• French Creek
• Kane
• State Game Lands 211
• Harvesting types
• Links