The Forestry Forum

Land in question  was a pasture that was allowed to grow up in saplings then bush hogged and left for 30-40 years. Now it is over stocked and nearly every desirable hardwood is a double or more trunked mess.  Only good thing is the multiple trunks usually divide low to the ground.

I've been cutting firewood there releasing the better oaks and cherry. Question is can you cut off one of the trunks of a multi stem and leave a stem and expect it to prosper? Wildlife grade trees prospering would be acceptable.
Thanks for your ideas in advance.

Yes many hardwoods do fine. I try to leave the stump at angle to not pool water. /. There is typically a higher percentage of desease and heart rot in trees grown from stumps but the fast growth from stumps makes it great for firewood production. The technical name for managing trees this way is coppicing.

There are lots of double trunked trees on my farm in Missouri. Some are from sprouts and some just grow that way. The loggers typically cut the bigger of the two if one is small. 30-40 years later the small one is bigger than the big one was. You do get more butt rot in the first log, especially if you wait too long to cut the second trunk. I just keep an eye on them and cut them as soon as I see any sign of rot at the base. ;D