Young Stand Management
Growing Tomorrow's Forests
Active management is critical in the early stages of forest stand development. A forester’s decisions within the first fifteen years after planting will determine the species composition, survival, and stocking of the future stand. Young seedlings are vulnerable to extreme weather events, such as drought and frost, and can experience heavy competition from shrubs, herbs, and invasive plants. Silvicultural options to improve tree survival can include weed and invasive species treatments, removing undesirable hardwoods (slashing), and pre-commercial thinning so that crop trees have more room to grow.
At Roots Forestry, we help landowners manage young stands to keep them on a trajectory that leads to success. We assess stands for competing vegetation and evaluate the need for treatments such as foliar release, bigleaf maple control, hardwood slashing, and pre-commercial thinning. We also monitor stands for bear damage, rodent damage and deer/elk browse.
Examples of Services Provided:
- Site preparation to promote successful seedling establishment
- Tree ordering
- Tree planting
- Planting audits and compliance
- 1-5 year seedling survival surveys
- Pre-commercial thinning (PCT)
