ABSTRACT
This paper aims to study the development of the dendrometric parameters of Pinus elliottii E. stands related to the dominant height and the basal area factor, expressed by the ratio between the remaining basal area and the maximum basal area of a witness that suffered no thinning. The maximum yield, in the different thinning treatments observed, was obtained with a basal area factor of 0,65, denoting that the thinning of a population can attain up to 35% of its basal area, in relation to a witness that suffered no thinning. The maximum yield obtained was 877 and 933 m³, with bark, per hectare, for rotations of 20 and 22 years respectively, for an initial number of 2,400 trees per hectare, in the average site of the studied region with a dominant height of 23.7 meters at 20 years. The thinning for an area basal factor of 0.55, with the reduction of up to 45% of basal area, in relation to a witness that suffered no thinning, permitted to obtain a total yield with losses of approximately 10%, but with a significant gain in the diameter increment.
Key words:
thinning; growth; yield; Pinus elliottii