This study examines the long term effects of precommercial thinning (PCT) on tree growth, wood characteristics and product quality and value in natural balsam fir stands. In Eastern Canada, little information is available on the long term effects of intensive silviculture on tree growth and concurrent changes in wood quality and value.
The Green River PCT trials, located about 80 km north of Edmundston in New Brunswick, were established between 1959 and 1961 to evaluate the long-term responses of balsam fir and spruce to PCT. Three nominal spacings, 4 ft (1.2 m), 6 ft (1.8 m), and 8 ft (2.4 m), were applied for comparison with an unthinned control in a randomized complete block design with 5 replicates. For the purpose of the present study, only 3 of the 5 replicates were assessed for wood quality. In 2008, or forty years after PCT treatment, sample trees were collected from each tree DBH class for wood quality evaluation. A total of 160 trees were measured, bucked into random-length (8-16-foot) logs, and converted into lumber in a modern sawmill. For each PCT spacing, wood chips were collected for evaluating the quality of medium density fibreboard (MDF) panels. Each piece of lumber was visually graded and tested in static bending to determine its lumber stiffness (MOE) and strength (MOR). Based on these sample trees, the impact of PCT spacing on product quality and value was evaluated at the DBH class level and at the stand level.
PCT had a positive effect on tree growth 48 years after treatment. The average tree diameter increased from 19.8 cm in unthinned control plots, to 23.5 cm (19%) in the 8’ spaced plots. Merchantable stem volume per tree increased from 277.1 dm3 to 381.1 dm3 (38%). Stand volumes from the control to the largest (8’) spacing were 281 m3/ha, 297 m3/ha, 310 m3/ha and 338 m3/ha, respectively. PCT had also a positive impact on Premium lumber grade recovery ranging from 18% in the unthinned control to 22% in the 8’ spacing. Through the same range of spacings, No. 2 & Better grade yields were 83.7%, 89.3%, 85.6% and 78.9 %, suggesting a slight decrease at the largest spacing. Total product value per tree was $29.09 in the unthinned control, and $31.07, $36.31 and $40.23 in the 4’, 6’ and 8’ spacings, respectively, representing a maximum value increase of 38%. PCT at 6' & 8' also increased the production of 2x6 & 2x8 by about 9 % compared to the control. Forty-eight years after treatment, all the spacings increased stand product value compared to the unthinned control: $25,222/ha (control), $29,942/ha (4’), $27,368/ha (6’) and $30,151/ha (8’). The Summit Road replicate, which was about 8 yrs older (70 years) than the two other replicates at Upper Belone (62 years), had markedly lower total product value recovery, indicating stand degradation. If the Summit Road plots are excluded, the stand product values for the control, 4’, 6’, and 8’ spacings become $27,402/ha, $35,200/ha, $32,948/ha and $31,911/ha, respectively.
Modulus of elasticity (MOE), or lumber stiffness, decreased slightly with increasing PCT spacing, from a maximum of 8233 MPa in the control, to 8175 MPa, 7937 MPa and 7961 MPa in the 4’, 6’ and 8’ spacings, respectively. Similarly, the modulus of rupture (MOR), or lumber strength, decreased steadily from 31 MPa in the control, to 30 MPa, 29 MPa and 28 MPa through the same range of spacings. Thus, compared to the control, the 8’ spacing had a minor negative impact on lumber MOE (–3.4 %) but a more appreciable negative impact on lumber strength (–8.9 %). Compared to the control, the 8’ spacing slightly decreased wood density by 3.7 % (340 kg/m3 vs. 328 kg/m3). Overall, the PCT spacings studied had a moderate negative impact on lumber mechanical properties. The sawmill wood chips from the control and the thinned stands (4’, 6’ & 8’) are all suitable for the production of good quality MDF panels. All MDF panels produced had very good strength (MOR) and stiffness (MOE), with little difference between product from thinned and unthinned stands.
In conclusion, this study shows that PCT in highly productive balsam fir stands is a viable silvicultural treatment that increases stand volume and solid-wood product value per hectare at the end of the rotation. On a total stand product value per ha basis, the 4’ spacing ranks as the best option, followed by the 6’ spacing. From a wood quality perspective, considering that the 8’ spacing decreased lumber MOE/MOR the most, it is recommended to thin young balsam fir stands to a maximum of 6’ (1.2 m) in order to limit the decrease in lumber mechanical properties. In this study, the 6’ spacing appears as the best compromise between stand volume production and solid-wood product quality and value. Thinning to a maximum of 6’ offers the advantage of minimizing the risk of loosing too many crop trees over time, in case natural perturbations occur, and potentially the opportunity to perform a commercial thinning if so desired.