Forest management case study

With work possible everywhere, a forest manager must prioritize based on personal preferences.  With bowsaw and lopper this morning, work was done to help a paper birch and red oak get some more sun.  The two trees, both about 20 feet tall, are seen on the left and right of the first picture, with a view to the north.  The pin cherry in the center, as well as a red maple off the screen a bit to the right, were doomed.

Why? Like the oak and birch, the pin cherry and red maple are hardwoods. Shouldn't they keep their spot?  Why take down trees in the name of helping other trees? Several reasons:

1.  Because Mother Nature is quite prolific in making trees grow.  There are far too many across several acres.  Thinning helps surviving trees grow faster and healthier, especially in relatively shaded spots.  There is only so much sun, water, and minerals available as trees fight to survive.
2.  The pin cherry isn't helping creatures by growing lots of cherries.  Due to the shade, few if any cherries grow on the tree in the picture.
3.  Although red maple and pin cherry can be aesthetically pleasing, they can't top a paper birch, and the shiny grey bark of the young oak looks splendid.
4.  The birch and oak have a much better chance of a longer life.  The pin cherry won't last long, and red maple is much more prone to dieback than the two preferred species about to get more sun.

Here's the after pic, looking east.  Two pieces of the red maple are on the ground, beyond the downed pin cherry.  The paper birch, shaded and young enough to be brown, is a few years away from being its trademark shiny, peeling white.  The red oak, now on the left, is now more likely to get 200 more years, something none of the other three species in this case study can expect.