Date of Award

Fall 2017

Project Type

Thesis

Program or Major

Natural Resources

Degree Name

Master of Science

First Advisor

Theodore E Howard

Second Advisor

Mark J Ducey

Third Advisor

Jenica Allen

Abstract

Pre-commercial and commercial thinning are common silvicultural treatments in northern hardwood forests throughout the New England, New York, and Great Lakes regions. There are few studies on how pre-commercial thinning influences net timber value over time. This research uses a long-term study from the Bartlett Experimental Forest in Bartlett, New Hampshire to examine how pre-commercial and commercial thinning influence net timber value in 2016 and estimated net timber value in 2026, and whether the costs associated with pre-commercial thinning are justified in the return. We also examine differences in understory species abundance and composition, down dead wood volume and abundance, and snag density and abundance among pre-commercial and commercial thinning treatments to assess important ecological impacts of thinning on northern hardwood forests.

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