In this series of videos, Grant Massie's resident forest experts share information about timber and how to maximize timber as an investment.

TRANSCRIPT OF PART 3 OF 10:

Ned : Bill, what factors determine the quality of a timber stand?

Bill: Some of the main factors are sight index which is a relationship of age to height. In other words the more height you have the more volume you will have and that is related to soil type.

Soil types are different and therefore the quality of the timber that grows in particular soil types vary.

Another factor would be how you manage a stand of timber, particularly in pine timber. You must manage it properly or you really won't get the productivity that you would want out of it. You need to thin it. Normal thinnings usually run at an age of about 17, 18 years old. Then you can possibly do another thinning at 25, 26 years old, then a final harvest anywhere between 30 and 35 years old.

That's the optimum growing cycle for Loblolly pine in our area. It can grow longer but also it won't grow quite as fast and from an economic standpoint is not quite as attractive when you let it grow longer.

Ned : What happens if you don't thin it when the stand is ready to be thinned?

Bill: Well, it doesn't increase in size the way it should. The diameter is restricted because it's crowded. Trees crowd out each other. In a thinning process you take out the inferior trees that have been overgrown. You open it up so that the larger trees can expand and grow more. It's amazing to see the difference in a thinned stand and an unthinned stand when you cut those trees and look at the ring growth on a tree. It really makes a difference.

Ned : You talked about sight index. Different soils have a different sight index that you can look at the soil type and get a forecast as to how it will produce timber?

Bill: Yes, if you look at your soil maps which you can rate it according to the soil maps. They will give you sight indexes for different species on your state soil maps, for USDA soil maps.

Ned : Great, thank you.

END OF PART 3

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