Depending on the size of the opening, group selection areas may favor the successful reproduction of intermediate or shade-intolerant tree species. Aesthetically, selection has the least visual impact of any regeneration method. Periodically, a number of trees are selected for harvest approximately equal in volume to the growth of the stand since the last harvest. The openings created by the removal of individual trees or small groups are small and scattered throughout the forest. The overall integrity and appearance of the forest is only slightly modified, and after a few years much of the residue from the harvest will have decomposed.
Selection also can be economically attractive to many private woodland owners with small acreage.
Two important cautions must be kept in mind when using the selection method. First, extreme care must be exercised in selecting the logging company to perform the harvest. One of the strong advantages of the selection method is that a forest remains after the harvest. It is important that the harvest be carried out by a professional logger with the skills to minimize damage to the trees that remain. A single tree selection cutting.