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Hardwood management, tree wound response, and wood product value

Formally Refereed

Abstract

Hardwood forest management practices may wound trees and initiate defects that reduce wood quality and value. Damage to the lower bole of residual stems during harvest operations has been heavily researched. Wounding from prescribed fire has been the subject of more recent studies. Injuries caused by harvesting and prescribed fire activities to tree roots and crowns are in shorter supply. Also, the relationship of wounding to wood value is less well-documented. The effects of wounding on wood value is an interaction among wound position, frequency, severity, and the constitutive and induced processes of tree protection and defense. Foresters should be informed about the consequences of tree wounding and management practices that affect wood quality and economic value. This paper reviews published observations on the occurrence, severity, and costs associated with wounding of potential crop trees as a result of forest operations and prescribed fire.

Keywords

compartmentalization, wound closure, hardwood quality, prescribed fire, stand entry, harvest operations

Citation

​Wiedenbeck, Jan; Smith, Kevin T. 2019. Hardwood management, tree wound response, and wood product value. The Forestry Chronicle. 94(3): 292-306.
https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/treesearch/57488