Acceleration of old-growth structural attributes in lodgepole pine forest: Tree growth and stand structure 25 years after thinning

Acceleration of forest succession to develop late-seral structural characteristics in younger stands may be achieved by silvicultural practices such as pre-commercial thinning (PCT). Young second-growth stands of lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) range across several million ha of the inland Pacific Northwest of North America and respond positively to various stand treatments. Objectives of this project were that large-scale stand thinning to a wide range of densities, at a 25-year period after PCT, would enhance: (1) productivity and structural features (diameter and height growth, and crown volume and dimensions of crop trees; (2) merchantable volume of crop trees; and (3) development of old-growth structural attributes. Three stands thinned to densities of ∼500 (low), ∼1000 (medium), and ∼2000 (high) stems/ha at age 17years, with an unthinned young pine and old-growth pine stand for comparison, were located near Penticton in south-central British Columbia.Lodgepole pine grew faster in mean diameter (cm) in the low- (13.89) than either of the medium- (10.2) or high-density (9.2) stands, but mean height growth increment (8.8–9.7m) was similar over the 25-year period since PCT. Mean diameter was 2.2 times greater in the low-density stand than unthinned stand. The medium- and high-density stands also tended to have large diameters (1.7–1.9 times that of the unthinned stand) and crowns, but still with mean heights 5–6m less than trees in the pine component of the old-growth stand. Mean merchantable stand volume (m3/ha) was 1.7–1.9 times higher in the medium- (231) and high-density (257) stands than low-density (137) stand, and comparable to the old-growth pine (225). Mean crown volume (m3) of crop trees was substantially greater in the low- (88) than in the medium- (27) and high-density (31), unthinned (4), or old-growth stands (4 pine only). Mean structural diversity of five layers of coniferous trees was highest in the low- and medium-density stands, with declining diversity from the high-density to unthinned to old-growth stands. In terms of old-growth structural attributes, large dominant trees with substantial crowns, multi-layered canopies of conifers, some canopy gaps, and understory patchiness of herbs and shrubs appeared in the heavily thinned (⩽1000stems/ha) stands at 25years post-thinning. These stands were 42years old at this re-measurement, and hence were not considered “old-growth” but the heavily thinned stands seemed to have some old-growth structural attributes. Silvicultural trade-off of stand volume gain vs. old-growth attributes may be necessary for low-density stands.