• Clatterbuck, Wayne K.
  USDA Forest Service, Southern Forest Experiment Station, Sewanee, TN
  
• Orr, Blair
  Department of Forestry, University of the South, Sewanee, TN
  

An assessment of the future value of oak timber when converted to grade lumber and discounted to the present at real rates of interest was used to compare the financial desirability of two patterns of cherrybark oak (Quercus falcata var. pagodifolia Ell. ) development. Oaks with a restricted developmental pattern had longer rotations but higher board-foot production than those with an unrestricted pattern. At optimal rotation ages, both patterns provided similar present net worths at real interest rates of 2 to 5 percent. However, differences in present net worth between the two patterns of development increased when discounting rates were 6 percent and above, making the shorter rotation of the unrestricted pattern more financially attractive.