Beech shearing/high-stumping to control understory interference

Abstract

The research evaluated opportunities for cutting off small understory beech root suckers at 0.6-0.9 m above ground. By six years (pilot test) after cutting with lopping shears in a closed-canopy uneven-aged northern hardwood stand, 91% of high stumps lacking a residual live branch had died. Of those cut above the lowest living branch, all survived. In a later operational trial by contract crews using chainsaws two growing seasons before a selection system cutting, 75% of high stumps without a residual live branch had died by the fifth year. Of stumps cut below the lowest living branch and that initially sprouted, only 7% had a live sprout by the sixth year. Among high stumps cut above the lowest branch, 84% survived.