Managing Pines for Profit and Wildlife - Virginia Department of ...

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ThinningThe fourth major decision is how to thin a pine stand.Thinning a pine stand in mid-rotation (between 16 and 20years post-planting) will increase the quantity of future harvestedsawtimber. This is just the expression of reducingpine to pine competition. On most first thinning operationsin Virginia, trees are thinned by a process termed 50% operatorselect. This usually takes a stand down to 200 to 225TPA. At these densities, little canopy opening exists, thereforevery little sunlight hits the forest floor, few herbaceousplants grow, few insects are produced and usefulness forquail, turkey and deer is limited.As a general rule, to achieve benefits for wildlife undera forest canopy, sunlight should strike at least 50% of theground at noon. To accomplish this, pine stands must bethinned to 175 or fewer TPA. An ideal compromise is to thinto 150 TPA. Understand that this yields fewer but larger,higher value sawlogs in the future. It also yields morepulpwood at present. Thinning to this level (150 TPA) setsthe stage for a potential wildlife bounty.Even if thinning to a lower density is not judged feasibleon an entire plantation, much can be gained for wildlife bythinning heavily along field edges, road corridors andaround stand openings. This “edge” habitat often yieldsthe greatest dividend for wildlife, acre for acre.By thinning to 150 TPA, much more of the forest floorreceives sunlight. Half the ingredients are in place, but justlike a chicken seasoning missing a certain spice, somethingmore is required to complete the perfect taste. How youmanage the stand after thinning is what really makes orbreaks the deal.▲Loblolly pine plantations reach thinning age for the pulpwoodmarkets in Virginia between ages 16 and 20. From canopy closure(about age 8 – 10) until they are thinned, very little sunlight reachesthe forest floor. As a result, there is sparse vegetation for most wildlifespecies during this period. A thinning down to 150 – 175 trees per acrepermits adequate sunlight to reach the forest floor, allows wildlife foodand cover to flourish, and still retains adequate pines for profitablechip’n’saw or sawlog production. (Photo David Coffman, DGIF)(Photo DOF)Ten
The Effect of ThinningBACKGROUND - A Hypothetical VirginiaCase StudyConsider a Virginia tree farm located in thePiedmont or Coastal Plain which is average insite quality. After harvest this tract is burned,planted and released with herbicide at an overallcost of $175 per acre. The site was plantedwith 550 trees per acre of second generation,improved loblolly seedlings with a resultantsite index of 65 (base age 25). Annual costs are $2per acre for property tax and $5 per acre formanagement expenses. The stand will bethinned at age 20 to three stocking densities ofapproximately 200, 150, and 100 residual treesper acre, respectively. This reflects the effects ofpotential trade-offs between financial returnsfrom timber production and increased openspace for quail and other wildlife. The standwill be harvested at age 30. Prices for pine pulpwood(5"– 8" d.b.h.), chip-n-saw (9"–12" d.b.h.),and pine sawtimber (13" d.b.h. and up) are $19,$60 and $109 per cord, respectively. Prices arefrom Timber Mart-South for first quarter 1998,for the Piedmont and Coastal Plain regions ofVirginia. Projected yields are taken fromPCWTHIN, growth and yield software developedat Virginia Tech from a Virginia database. Inflation is assumed to be two percent,and real price appreciation (price change overinflation) is assumed to be two per-cent. Theresults that can be expected from this case areshown in Table 1.FINANCIAL RETURNSThe results are compared among a no-thinalternative and thinning at the three stockingdensities to analyze the effects on returns. Thechoice of a 30-year rotation is arbitrary to facilitatethe comparison of the alternatives; however,it is close to what might be selected by atypical Virginia landowner under similar circumstances.In practice, silvicultural treatmentssuch as thinning and fertilization will oftenextend or shorten an optimum rotation (i.e.,investment length). The results are examinedbefore-tax, in current terms (with inflation),using internal rate of return (IRR), net presentvalue (NPV) at eight percent, and land expectationat eight percent. NPV results are onerotation of 30-years. Land expectation valuesgive results for an infinite number of rotations.The financial returns for the various alternativesare remarkably similar (Table 1). TheIRR for the thinned stands is slightly higherthan for an unthinned stand under theassumed conditions. Similarly, the NPV forthinned stands is higher than for the unthinnedalternative, but the margin of gain issmall. A landowner should include other benefitsto be gained from thinning before making afinal decision. Because the financial resultsfrom different thinning intensities are similar, alandowner may thin more heavily to promotefood for quail and other wildlife with a minimumsacrifice in financial outcomes.Financial gains from thinning result mainlyfrom promoting leave trees in the stand intolarger diameter classes which result in higherprices per unit for solid wood products. Theproducts possible from a timber stand — pulpwood,chip-n-saw, and sawtimber — vary by initialstocking, timing and severity of thinnings,and site index. Financial returns are also affectedby the differentials among the various productswhich are governed by the local market.Properly thinning loblollypines is vital to the longtermvitality of the standand to a landowner ’s economicreturns. Standard“operator-select” thinningin Virginia usually takesstands down to 200–225trees per acre. This stopsjust short of the level bestsuited for wildlife. Thinningto 150–175 TPA maintainseconomic returns and providesfor wildlife.(Photo David Coffman,DGIF)▲Table 1. Financial returns for loblolly pine on a 30-year rotation under fourthinning regimes, per acre.Thinning regime – IRR, before-tax NPV @ 6%, Land expectationresidual stocking, (%) before-tax ($) value @ 6%,trees per acre (#) before-tax ($)No-thin 13.1 688 764200 13.6 735 816150 13.8 766 851100 13.8 760 845Eleven
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Page 3 and 4: MANAGING PINES FORPROFIT AND WILDLI
Page 5 and 6: % COVERAGE100806040OverstoryGround2
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Page 15 and 16: (Photo Steve Capel)(Photo Dwight Dy
Page 17 and 18: (Photo Jim Mehring)Best Management
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