Thinning Jack Pine in the Nebraska Sand Hills

Two remeasurements of thinning plots in the Nebraska National Forest jack pine plantations of 1903 indicate that the heavily thinned stand with 696 trees per acre has made a gain in volume of 58 per cent compared with the unthinned stand with 2,098 trees per acre. The moderately thinned stand with 1,480 trees has made a 41 per cent gain, and the lightly thinned with 896 trees a 31 per cent gain. Both the accelerated growth and the stronger wood structure, as results of thinning, suggest the advantage of heavy thinnings to concentrate the growth on a smaller number of individual trees which will have a more nearly sufficient supply of moisture.