Perhaps it is worthwhile to mention what silviculture is not. "High-grading" a timber stand is not silviculture. High-grading is "taking the best and leaving the rest." Sometimes after high-grading, the remaining timber is of decent quality and the soil is productive, resulting in a future stand that is not noticeably degraded, except after a long-term look at growth. Sometimes the remaining timber is poor, and the poor-quality, poor-growth stand that results is apparent to everyone. The coalfields of Tennessee are perhaps the best example of how high-grading can turn a potentially productive region into a one having very little potential for producing sawtimber or any valuable wood products. High-grading is not a plot by loggers against landowners; simply, it is a purely economic practice. Loggers want to cut only what they can sell easily. With the exception of a few areas, markets for low-quality materials (i.e., pulpwood) have been few and far between in the Appalachian region.

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By Keven Belt