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Thinning, a silvicultural technique used in forest management, is a stand manipulation operation designed to modify tree growth. Where trees are managed under a commercial regime, competition is reduced by removing adjacent stems that exhibit less favourable timber quality potential. When left in a natural state trees will 'self-thin' but this process of natural selection is unreliable.

Ecological Thinning is where the primary aim of forest thinning is to increase growth of selected trees, favouring development of wildlife habitat (such as hollows) rather than focussing on increased timber yields. Ecological thinning can be considered a new approach to landscape restoration for some types of eucalypt forests and woodlands in Australia.

Research under way in the USA and Australia is aimed at providing an alternate approach in forest management where conservation objectives are a high priority. Methods of ecological thinning being developed on silvicultural techniques for local forest types. Ecological thinning is being developed using two principles: 1. appropriate stem reduction to reduce competition and 2. retention of trees (selection) that are more suitable for wildlife (i.e. not timber production). An example of ecological thinning research is the project in Victoria's Box-Ironbark forests, investigating various thinning and timber removal methods under an Adaptive Management or AEM framework. The primary objective is to generate (over time) a number of forest habitat values (i.e. tree hollows) that are crucial for wildlife conservation.

• Parks Victoria Box-Ironbark Parks & Reserves - follow link to thinning trial FAQ
• Ecological Thinning Conference Poster - Poster by JP Pigott presented to ESA2004 in Adelaide, Australia
• Review of Thinning Prescriptions - Review of thinning in park management in Australia
• Cedar River Watershed Habitat Conservation Plan - Catchment project in Seattle, USA