Timber Management - Growth and Yield Model [Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources, NSDNR]

Over 1,000 Permanent Sample Plots (PSPs) have been monitored for up to 30 years in managed forests by the Timber Management Group (map). PSP's have been established in plantations, pre-commercial and commercial thinnings and selection harvests in a variety of forest types and locations on private and crown land throughout the province. Data from these plots are utilized to develop Nova Scotia's Growth and Yield Model for both softwood and hardwood species. This model predicts the yields from our forest stands when managed. It can be used to develop silvicultural treatment guidelines and to determine the sustainability of our forest management programs by being incorporated into forest level analyses. A forest manager could use the model, for example, to compare the growth and yield over time for a red spruce stand thinned to tree spacings of 1.8 metres compared to 2.4 metres. The model can be download here to aid commercial foresters in managing their tree stands!