Trees with poor form or showing evidence of damage, insects, or disease are usually removed. Improvement Cuttings Improvement cuttings are made to remove undesirable trees to favor desirable ones. The choice of species depends on the landowner's objectives for timber, wildlife, aesthetic appeal, or recreation. Many trees with little to no timber value might be left to favor these other uses. Crown class is one method used to select trees for silvicultural prescriptions.
Dominant trees are the largest trees in the forest stand.
They have crowns over and above the other trees, receiving full sunlight on all sides of their crown. Co-dominant trees also receive full sunlight on much but not all of their crowns. They are mixed with other trees. Suppressed trees receive almost no full sunlight. A wolf tree has an unusually large crown for the stand.