Good day,
I have a couple of acres of white cedar that I am thinking of select cutting. I was going to take out the larger trees to give space to the smaller ones to grow. My thinking behind this is a few years ago I removed a dozen or so 14 inch dbh trees and they counted around 220 years old. This area is very wet and would only be accessible in the winter .
Does anyone have any input about these types of stands? What trees should be removed?
All input is much appreciated. I asked the local foresters but they only seem to want to clear cut everything.
I will freely admit that I know little about cultivating white cedar except I'm jealous that you have some of those beautiful trees.
Having said that, I'd look at thinning like I'd do hardwood. Take out any crooked, leaning or defective trees first. Then decide on how much sunlight you want hitting the ground and thin to achieve that level of sun. At a minimum, you probably want to give trees a little growing room- at least a few feet around the crown of each tree. I'd "underthin" first, less than I think is needed because you can always cut more but can't put back a cut tree. Try an area and see what the result is next growing season. Too much undergrowthing coming in means too much sun hitting the ground.
By chance is that a deer yard in the winter? If so that's something to consider.
I have similar stands of cedar, although younger than yours. My management plan says to remove any trees interfering with cedar growth or re-generation. For me that is mostly red maple and aspen. Generally, any mis-shaped or diseased trees should also be removed. I remove any multiple stem cedars (one stem every year or less often as cedar can be sensitive to drastic changes) until the best single stem remains.
Cedar seeds best on rotting material - so much of what I "remove" I cut up and leave on the ground for regeneration. As far as density, I'm sure there are target basal areas for cedar, but I try to remove trees so one or two sides of the crown are not touching another.
I have never seen any deer on this part of my property but definitely something to consider. Perhaps I will remove some of the hardwoods instead and some cedars but leave the bigger older trees for regeneration purposes. Most of the crowns of these trees are touching and it is very dark in the summer.
Thanks for the inputs so far
The touching crowns is exactly what would make it attractive for deer in the winter. I think it is referred to as thermal shelter or something like that.
Makes sense. I always see deer in my hardwood stands. Never seen any in the cedar stand. Had the odd Moose in there over the years.
Manage in all diameter classes and cut the worst first to a 70-90 sq.ft. BA. If it is an active deer wintering area, do the thinning during the heavy snow seasons.
Another option if it is a large stand is to do a strip cutting. Clearcut a 66-foot strip and leave a 132-foot strip. Deer will have thermal cover in the 132-foot strip and winter feed on the cleared 66-foot strip.