Robert W. Sassaman
Published: 2018-09-02
Total Pages: 34
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Excerpt from Economics of Thinning Stagnated Ponderosa Pine Sapling Stands in the Pine-Grass Areas of Central Washington The present trend toward wider spacing of trees in Pacific Northwest pine management is another reason for con ducting this study. Barrett (3 has shown that in naturally occurring low density stands, 140 trees produced as much wood in 45 years as 460 trees produced on a similar site. However, the tree density that is the most compatible with other uses, plus being economically feasible, is still a subject for debate. Finally, we must consider questions related to joint returns from timber and forage that result from precommercial thinning. There are two distinct types of forest-grazing land: pine-grass and pine - shrub. Pine-grass areas are most common in central and eastern Washing ton, and pine-shrub areas are usually found in eastern Oregon. Our attention is focused on management regimes com mon to National Forests in the pine-grass areas. Our objective is to determine which of several thinning schedules for stagnated ponderosa pine sapling stands produces the greatest economic returns, and this study is a start in the development of these guides. It is based on data for one site (a high Site V) in the pine-grass area of central Washington. The schedules differ in stocking, forage production, and the length (time) of management regime. Proper use of this study requires that the assumptions and constraints be kept firmly in mind. Sensitivity analyses were conducted for a range of stumpage and forage prices and a variety of costs. However, the study results which are summarized in tables 2 and 3 reflect generally conserva tive cost estimates and liberal prices. Both of these tend to increase theestimated return on investment. Even so, many of our alternatives (when the allow able cut effect is not included) yield less than the guiding rate of return. You may want to compare your assumptions with ours and speculate on the extent to which your management activities should agree with our study findings. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
