Managing Red Alder in the Douglas-Fir Region: Some Possibilities

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Abstract
We compare the present net worth (PNW) of each of six theoretical systems for managing red alder (Alnus rubra) with PNW of fertilized and unfertilized Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) systems in continuous management. Under the conditions specified for this analysis, the most profitable system (PNW = $623 per acre) is Douglas-fir commercially thinned and fertilized twice in a 45-year rotation. In the next most profitable system (PNW = $578 per acre), red alder is grown to sawlog size in 28 years and followed by Douglas-fir, thinned twice but not fertilized, in a 45-year rotation. The remaining six systems range downward from PNW = $527 (unfertilized Douglas-fir) to PNW = -$251 (red alder in continuous 13-year rotation). The conditions under which managed red alder systems are equally profitable with Douglas-fir include increases in either real interest rate, alder stumpage price, or the cost of nitrogen fertilizer, or a decrease in the time required to grow red alder to minimum sawlog size.

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