Thinning Guidelines for Southern Bottomland Hardwood Forests

Thinnings, improvement cuttings, and other partial cuttings in southern bottomland hardwood forests are generally designed to enhance the growth and development of those species favored for management objectives. Hardwood tree classes and stocking guides can be used as tools to aid in planning and conducting partial cuttings in hardwood forests. Two disadvantages associated with any partial cutting in hardwood stands are excessive logging damage to boles and/or exposed roots of residual trees and the possible production of epicotmic branches on the boles of residual stems. General guidelines for thinning in mixed-species stands of bottomland hardwoods are presented.