Purification (forestry)

The purification (thickening care) is a measure for stock regulation in forestry.

After a forest culture or natural regeneration has closed into a thickening , expansive overgrowths , so-called limbs (conifer) or wolves (deciduous tree), are removed. In contrast to later thinning , which aims at promoting individual individuals and thus selects positively, the purification is a purely negative selection. This is due to the fact that at this relatively young age, potential future trees cannot yet be identified. The trees can still "convert" a lot in their social position and morphology.

No usable wood is produced during purification , the trees that are removed remain in the stand. Sometimes they are also allowed to die standing, for example after removing the bark ( curling ).

Usually narrow alleys (maintenance paths) are also created during a clearing, which serve for a better orientation and overview, a part can then later be transferred to the fine development network for the wood transport .