Toward understanding the economic and ecological outcomes of selection silviculture on a northern hardwood forest

Single-tree selection (STS) and small-group selection (SGS) silviculture are widely used in the northeastern United States, but questions remain regarding the economic and ecological outcomes of these systems. To assess harvest treatment effects on northern hardwood forests, we examined an unmanaged stand (UNM) and STS and SGS managed stands within the Bartlett Experimental Forest of New Hampshire. For an economic perspective, grade and standing tree values were our metrics to evaluate changes in timber quality. After 60 years of management, the percentage of higher graded trees increased slightly for both the SGS and STS managed stands. However, current data suggests no statistically significant differences in the standing tree value among the UNM, STS, and SGS. For an ecological perspective, density and volume of downed woody debris (DWD) was used for assessing structural heterogeneity. SGS and UNM had the greatest volume and density of DWD