Commercial Thin Dense Poletimber Stands—These are 
poletimber stands with dense growing stock. Examples of 
these stands are overstocked natural and planted pine stands 
in need of thinning and well-stocked hardwood stands need- 
ing pulpwood removal. The recommended treatment is to 
reduce stocking by commercial thinning to prevent stagna- 
tion and confine growth to fewer but high-quality crop 
trees. This management option included thinning, growing 
to rotation age, and then converting to pine plantations with 
site preparation on all sites. Bottomland hardwood sites and 
mixed pine—hardwood or upland hardwood stands on low 
sites were naturally regenerated after final harvest. 
Control Stocking of Undesirable Trees—These are 
stands with adequate seedling, sapling, and/or poletimber 
growing stock mixed with competing vegetation either over- 
topping or otherwise inhibiting the development of crop 
trees. These stands are adequately stocked, but less desir- 
able stems in the stand are limiting the growth of crop trees. 
Examples are pine stands with encroaching hardwood 
competition, mixed pine—hardwood stands in which pine 
growth is reduced by less desirable hardwood trees, and 
hardwood stands with competition from undesirable species 
or trees with poor form. These stands need deadening or 
removal of culls, wolf trees, or other stems that will not earn 
an adequate return. The recommended treatment is to 
control stocking of undesirable trees with mechanical or 
chemical methods in order to release overtopped trees, to 
prevent stagnation, and/or improve composition, form, or 
growth of the residual stand. Management options evalu- 
ated the timber stand improvement treatment and subsequent 
regeneration to pine on most sites following final harvest. 
Many acres of overstocked stands in the 
South need thinning to prevent stand 
stagnation and enhance the growth of 
fewer, but higher quality, trees. 
236 
Harvest Mature or Overmature Sawtimber Stands and 
Regenerate—These are mature or overmature sawtimber 
stands with sufficient volume to justify a commercial 
harvest. They are adequately stocked older stands past finan- 
cial maturity. Most stands contain valuable sawtimber and 
could be held, but the volume and value growth rate of a 
replacement stand would be higher. The recommended treat- 
ment is to clearcut the stand and regenerate by natural or 
artificial methods. Establishment of new pine plantations 
was assumed on most sites, with natural regeneration on 
some low sites and bottomland hardwood sites. 
Salvage Damaged Timber and Regenerate—These are 
stands with excessive damage to merchantable timber due to 
fire, insects, disease, wind, ice, or other destructive agents. 
These stands may contain unproductive areas where timber 
has been lost, trees have broken tops, or where damage 
from insects or diseases will increase unless the stand is 
harvested. Because these stands are severely damaged, av- 
erage growth and yields of higher valued products are signi- 
ficantly reduced. The recommended treatment is harvest or 
removal of damaged or threatened timber, followed by 
regeneration. The management options called for immedi- 
ate harvest of remaining timber and planting to pine in 
most cases. 
Most of the management options described above are di- 
rected toward pine production. Many, but not all, of these 
can yield returns on the needed investments that would meet 
or exceed the longrun average rate of return to capital in 
the private sector. An infinite variety of stand conditions 
exists, and some of these treatments may be inappropriate 
for some acres within each category. Many other manage- 
ment options, including natural regeneration, may be 
feasible and yield adequate returns on investment. However, 
the management options evaluated were limited primarily 
because a goal of this study was to determine potential in- 
creases in timber volume, particularly pine, from more in- 
tensive management. The process used throughout this study 
could be used equally well to assess other management 
options. 
Prices—Stumpage prices used for analyses of timber invest- 
ment opportunities were based on average 1985 stumpage 
prices taken from Timber Mart—South (Norris 1985). The 
range of 1985 stumpage prices used for each State is shown 
in table 5.3. Future expected real prices were based on the 
base price projections shown in chapter 4. Indexes of prices 
were developed for pine pulpwood, pine sawtimber, and 
hardwood sawtimber. Hardwood pulpwood prices were 
kept at constant 1985 levels. Constant 1985 dollars were 
used for all stumpage prices, and all effects of inflation or 
