Data from the "Partial Cutting Study" at the Dukes Experimental Forest, Upper Peninsula of Michigan, 1927–1966

This data publication contains data collected in the Partial Cutting Study (PCS) between 1927 and 1966 at Dukes Experimental Forest (DEF), which was previously the Upper Peninsula Experimental Forest. The PCS used sixteen variations of selection (uneven-aged silviculture) and diameter-limit harvesting methods and measured diameter of trees by species under these systems. Inventory data, collected by the USDA Forest Service, are presented in two different datasets: 1) tree diameter and species data for sapling-, poletimber-, and sawtimber-sized trees collected in Permanent Sample Plots (PSPs) from 1927 to 1966 and 2) diameter class and species data for sapling- and poletimber-sized trees located on transects through the PSPs. Also included in this data publication is a study plan that was compiled from existing reports and contains the history of the study, assigned silvicultural treatments, and changes made to the study between its inception in 1926 until the closure of the study in 1966.
The PCS was initiated at DEF in 1926 to investigate partial cutting methods in an effort to provide continuous timber supplies due to concerns at the time over loss of timber reserves and widespread high-grading (Eyre and Zillgitt, 1953; Eyre and Zillgitt, 1950).