Silvicultural Practices in Eastern Hardwood Forests

The U.S. faces a deficit in hardwood log production and consequently must look to the development of its resource. To improve log production both in the short and long term will require a balance between clear-cutting to replace some stands, and the conservation and stimulation of existing growing stock in others. Narrow concepts of what constitutes an 'acceptable' uneven-aged stand must be rejected and greater flexibility in silvicultural practice encouraged, including more attention to relationships between ecology and silvicultural practice.