Thinning in Old-Field Virginia Pine

Abstract Thinning experiments have been conducted in old-field Virginia pine (Pinus virginiana Mill.) on the Hill Forest in Durham County, North Carolina, since 1932.1 The thinned stands were from 5 to 37 years of age and the densities of the younger stands ranged from 4,000 to 9,000 stems per acre at the time of thinning. These studies showed that, in the North Carolina Piedmont, thinning in old-field Virginia pine 12 years old or older is not practical, because of poor growth response and the hazard of sleet and wind damage. Thinnings in stands 5 to 6 years old resulted in accelerated growth without sleet damage.