Thinning and growth: A full turnaround

Abstract

Is it possible to increase natural growth of forest stands by judicious removal of some trees? This question inspired generations of foresters to design and test many methods of thinning invent the ultimate arbiter of forest science-permanent plots-and develop much of this science to boot. From the initial feeling that our actions can only undermine the plentitude of undisturbed forests, we went through several more assertive stances only to return to the original belief. In the process, we have realized that we are interested mostly in the value of forest output rather than in its quantity, and that the method to maximize this value is yet to be discovered.