Application of Shelterwood Cutting

Probably the most frequently cited method for regenerating oaks is the shelterwood method (Beck 1991, Hannah 1987, Jacobs and Wray 1992, Korstian 1927, Sampson et al 1983, Sander 1979, Scholz 1952, Smith 1986). The method is potentially suited to regenerating northern red oak where the species most frequently occurs- in the troublesome mesic ecosystems where it is difficult to obtain the accumulation and development of oak advance reproduction. The essential feature of the shelterwood method is a reduction in stand density in one or more steps near the end of the rotation to encourage establishment and/or growth of reproduction (Smith 1986). Normally, the final overstory removal is made when established reproduction is deemed adequate for replacing the parent stand (Beck 1991, Smith 1986) (Isebrands and Dickson, 1994).