Logging impact in uneven-aged stands of the Missouri Ozark Forest Ecosystem Project

Today, there is keen interest in using alternative silvicultural systems like individual-tree selection, group openings and shelterwood because the general public feels these systems are more acceptable than clearcutting. Consequently, due to repeated entries into forest stands and the fact that residual crop trees have to be carried for a long period of time between re-entries, the damage to residual trees arising from harvest operations has to be better understood so that it can be minimized. The Missouri Ozark Forest Ecosystem Project (MOFEP), located in southeastern Missouri, is a 9,200-acre landscape experiment designed to compare the impacts of even-aged, uneven-aged, and no management on a wide array of ecosystem components. Results from an extensive logging damage study show that careful logging can result in minimal damage to leave trees.