Low Impact vs. High Impact		Selection Harvest versus Clearcut University of New Brunswick Study

A Woodlot Experiment In 1946, the Maritime Forest Ranger School established a 10 acre study area on the UNB woodlot to compare long-term wood volume yields between clearcutting, selection cutting, and no cutting. This was mixed wood dominated by red spruce, balsam fir, hemlock, poplar and red maple. It contained trees of several age classes, about half of which were approximately 60 years old, and had a wood volume of 17 cords/acre. The Lessons Learned Between 1946 and 1989 the site logged selectively yielded 42 percent more wood than the clearcut area. The value of the standing timber in the selection cut is currently greater than that now standing on the clearcut site, although it was harvested three times and the clearcut only once. The selection cut site supports twice the volume of wood growing on the clearcut site, and the value of the wood (red spruce) is considerably greater than that found on the clearcut site (poplar).   Control Area Currently the area is stocked with cedar, hemlock, red spruce and red maple. Year Wood Volume (cords/acre) 1947 17 cords/acre 1964 28 cords/acre 1989 24 cords/acre   Clearcut Area Poplar with and understory of spruce and balsam fir now dominate the area. Year Volume Harvest 1946 17 cords/acre 17 cords/acre 1977 8 cords/acre none 1989 17 cords/acre   Selection Cut Area Red Spruce dominates the site with a scattering of hemlock and red maple. Year Volume Harvest 1946 17 cords/acre 12 cord/acre 1965 5 cords/acre 1989 30 cords/acre 11 cords/acre (photos courtesy of Dale Wilson)   N.B. Federation of Woodlot Owners Study