Considerations in the Management of Young Red Pine Stands: Implications to Growth, Yield and Economics

Abstract

There are a variety of ways to manage red pine (Pinus resinosa Ait.) ranging from intensive management of fully-stocked stands for the primary purpose of timber production to less intensive approaches aimed at increasing landscape diversity and wildlife habitat. A long history of field research in the Lake States exists with studies beginning in the early 1930s and continuing to the present time. The purpose of this document is to highlight the implications to management during the early years of the rotation building upon existing knowledge developed by the USDA Forest Service and the University of Minnesota and provide additional information based on results of recent studies on stand productivity and mechanical thinning in younger stands in Minnesota done at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, Natural Resources Research Institute. In addition to biological effects, information is provided to estimate site productivity, the expected age at first thinning and the effect of thinning method on harvest economics at first-thinning. While most of the research highlighted in this document is based on study sites in Minnesota, we expect that this information is applicable to other areas in the northcentral region of the United States. This document is organized in a sequential order following stages of stand development. This is done to highlight those points in time when decisions need to be made and to highlight effects of those decisions on stand production and timing of thinning operations. Also, our analyses rely heavily on the RP 2005 growth and management model developed by Buckman et.al. (2006) to show the effect of various management options on stand growth and the reader is encouraged to use this tool to understand various management options in red pine. This model can be downloaded at: http://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/pubs/9031. In addition to the several management guides and other literature, the reader is encouraged to read the document by Buckman et.al. (2006) to gain a more thorough understanding of the interrelationships among stand density, early rotation management, growth rate and thinning options. The RP 2005 model attempts to bring these interrelationships together in a mathematical framework and, as such, is a powerful tool in understanding the growth and management of red pine at all ages.