Cleaning yellow birch seedling stands to increase survival, growth, and crown development

Nine year diameter growth, height growth, survival, change in crown position, and quality responses of 7-year-old dominant and codominant (Betulaalleghaniensis Britton) seedlings to five intensities of cleaning near Marquette, Michigan are reported. The best compromise between survival, growth rate, and quality development without corrective pruning is to clean within a 2.4-m radius of selected crop trees. If corrective pruning is feasible, the 3.7-m cleaning radius treatment would be best because diameter growth is 30% greater.