The goal of this research project is to study the impact of average spacing between trees in terms of the growth and the quality of the trees. This practice, called pre-commercial thinning, was performed at four different spacings of 2.1, 2.3, 2.5, and 2.8m, and an unthinned plot was left as a control. An initial phase of analysis examined separately the effects on the growth and on the quality of the trees. A second phase will focus on the best trees and will examine the residual density which offers the best diameter growth and tree quality.

The current major outbreak of mountain pine beetle (MPB) in the central interior of BC has prompted research into planning of a future forest that is more resistant to this insect. In the summer of 2005, a lodgepole pine seed orchard was infested by MPB. The orchard contains many clones and the clones are packed in regular rows in a randomized fashion.