Sustainable Timber Harvesting

Diameter limit cutting is another cutting practice that is in common use in Virginia, though it may have negative long-term repercussions. With this practice, all of the trees above a certain diameter limit are cut, and all trees below the limit are left in place. This is financially attractive since the largest trees tend to be the most valuable. But the problem is that the smaller trees are not necessarily younger. They may be weaker and slower growing, and often poor in quality. So, in many cases diameter limit cutting is nothing more than high-grading. This is not always the case, but it is true more often than not. In some cases there may actually be smaller growth that is desirable, and if this is true than diameter limit cutting might work okay. Sometimes, a timber stand improvement is done along with the diameter limit cut, and this can lessen the negative impact as well. Certainly you would do well to carefully investigate your forest if a diameter limit cut is proposed to you. It may lead to a greater financial return today, at the expense of a healthy future forest.