If more than a few cull or otherwise unmerchantable aspen trees remain following harvest, remove them. Also eliminate poor quality or undesirable trees of other species. Where wildlife objectives are also important, leave no more than three to four active den trees per acre. Remove any trees that will prevent aspen from adequately regenerating. In Michigan, thinning is not recommended for aspen stands being managed for pulpwood production because prevailing market conditions and site quality make thinning economically infeasible.
Clearcut harvest removes all trees in an area at one time, regardless of size.
Mechanized harvest increases labor productivity and favors year-around logging operation, conditions permitting. Although machine harvesters cause varying degrees of site disturbance, few adverse effects on soils and watersheds have been observed. However, machine harvesting does create favorable regeneration conditions and desirable wildlife habitat. Slash can be concentrated where desired, brush can be uprooted and largely destroyed, and unmerchantable trees can be felled or broken off at low cost. Whether harvest is manual or machine, clearcutting is visually disturbing if the area harvested is too large.