Which thinning removes the alternate co-dominant crowns to stimulate growth?

Which thinning removes the alternate co-dominant crowns to stimulate growth?

• A. Low thinning
• B. Selection thinning
• C. Crown thinning
• D. Mechanical/row thinning

Answer: (C)

Thinning to improve growth by altering crown competition. Crown thinning removes trees within the canopy that have competing or interlocking crowns, specifically targeting alternate co-dominant crowns that crowd or shade the best residual trees. By taking out these crown-to-crown competitors, the remaining trees—especially the dominants and co-dominants—gain more light and space for their crowns to expand. This boost in light interception promotes faster diameter and overall growth of the residual stand. In contrast, low thinning mainly reduces density to accelerate growth by releasing suppressed understory trees, selection thinning focuses on removing inferior trees to improve average quality without emphasizing crown openness, and mechanical/row thinning removes trees in rows or by mechanical means without the same focus on freeing crown space among alternate co-dominant crowns.

Thinning to improve growth by altering crown competition. Crown thinning removes trees within the canopy that have competing or interlocking crowns, specifically targeting alternate co-dominant crowns that crowd or shade the best residual trees. By taking out these crown-to-crown competitors, the remaining trees—especially the dominants and co-dominants—gain more light and space for their crowns to expand. This boost in light interception promotes faster diameter and overall growth of the residual stand.

In contrast, low thinning mainly reduces density to accelerate growth by releasing suppressed understory trees, selection thinning focuses on removing inferior trees to improve average quality without emphasizing crown openness, and mechanical/row thinning removes trees in rows or by mechanical means without the same focus on freeing crown space among alternate co-dominant crowns.