An economic analysis of thinning intensity and thinning type of a two-tiered even-aged Forest stand

Abstract

The issue of the optimal thinning type has occupied foresters since the beginnings of modern forestry. Thinning from below and thinning from above represent the two extreme solutions in a continuum of thinning types. This paper provides a general economic analysis of the thinning intensity dependent on the social class and the decision between thinning from below, above or both ends. Therefore, a two-tiered even-aged forest stand is assumed, in which only a dominant and a suppressed class of trees can be distinguished. Optimal thinning intensities are derived for each cohort to maximize the land expectation value and analyzed in a comparative static analysis. The results provide a general insight into the thinning type decision and identify conditions under which a certain thinning type is likely to be optimal. The findings are discussed in comparison to existing literature.