the best time

[coxy]

when is the best time to do a 4-5a thinning  there are lots of young cherry8-13in dbh tall and straight with at least 30ft of tree before a limb the rest is small soft maple and beech 3-8in dbh  its been logged a few times over the last 30years  the property is 90a it was clear cut back in the acid factory days   would like to try some thing different  if it works on this i will do the hole thing in do time

[Ron Wenrich]

The best time is when stocking levels are full.  It sounds like you have a pretty heavy stocking if you have all that self pruning.  Foresters measure stocking by the amount of basal area per acre.  The upper limits on hardwoods is around 120 sq ft per acre.  You want to thin down to about 70-80, at a minimum.

Your selection process should be to take out the worst trees first.  Sometimes you can't get them all in a single thinning.  You are looking to keep trees that have the best qualities.  That would include form, size, and species.  I wouldn't retain beech, for example, unless you are looking for it as a mast tree.  I would rather have that area occupied by a higher quality tree, like oak, maple or cherry.  The beech and soft maple are more shade tolerant, and that's why they're in the understory.

If you're doing it yourself, you just need to keep a few things in mind.  Trees can only grow through crown expansion.  If you are doing a thinning, you need to give growing space to the crowns.  That doesn't mean the ones that are suppressed under the canopy should be neglected.  A good quality one could be released by removing the overstory.  But, the poor ones still suck up water and nutrients.

To get your basal area, I use an angle gauge.  They're cheap and practically indestructible.  I get mine from Ben Meadows.  There are count trees and non count trees.  You're interested in the count trees that you pull in a sample point.  You can also make your own.  To read up on it a little, there's a short article over in the knowledge base.  https://forestryforum.com/cgi-bin/tips/tips.cgi?display:1010359123-3833.txt  You will leaving no more than 12 count trees and no less than 7. 

[coxy]

thanks ron I have a little more home work to do  ;D not as easy as I thought but should get it    would it be better to cut in winter,spring summer or fall   after the trees are cut would it be better to take them out or leave them on the ground for cover and rot

[Ron Wenrich]

Fall and winter may be better times to do the thinning.  There is some bug problems that can be associated with the tops that can affect the quality of the residual stand.  In cherry, you can get gum streak from the peach borer, I believe.  They nest in the topwood of recently cut timber, and bore into the trees, leaving the gum streak.  Usually, that is in the summer for that to happen.  We get that quite a bit in our area, but cherry isn't very prominent in our woodlots.  The winter time adds the ability to withstand soil compaction if you're driving on it and the soil is frozen.  Mud times should be avoided.  Its also a lot easier to see when the leaves are down. 

As for leaving things lay to rot, about 90% of nutrients are in the limbs and fines.  So, taking the bole out as either firewood, pulpwood or sawlogs wouldn't hurt the nutrient level of the stand. 

[coxy]

thanks for the info ;D

[Saki]

A great basic reference is a book called ( I think ) The woodland steward. A good read, very practical, and breaks down some pretty scientific forestry principle really well.

[Phorester]

Good call, SAKI.

As a professional forester working with private landowners, I am always trying to simplify scientific forest management principles for landowners, to convince them that they can do some of the management practices themselves especially on the smaller trees without worrying about "ruining" their woods.  It does no good to "WOW" them with technical jargon. You scare them into doing nothing.  The Woodland Steward is a fine book for explaining management in easy to understand terms and concepts.

Here's one source for it:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Woodland-Steward-Practical-Management/dp/0961503114