Timber quality of birch in mixed stands of birch and spruce

Birch is the dominant deciduous tree species in Sweden but only 16 % is found in pure birch stands. The majority of the birch (51 %) is to be found in conifer dominated stands. Swedish forest land comprises approximately of 23 % mixed stands and one problem is that for mixed stands there are few management recommendations. The underlying aim of this thesis was to study the management of mixed forest stands of spruce and birch to achieve good timber quality of birch. The study was based on a literature study and measurement in a field experiment launched in 1998 by the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU). This study indicates that it is possible to achieve good timber quality of birch in mixed stands of birch and spruce. However, it requires that birch in mixed stands with spruce should be managed similar to management programs of pure birch stands. Keywords: Birch, spruce, timber quality, mixed stands.