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Liberation thinning as a silvicultural operation that removes non-commercial trees can be very beneficial to the residual stand. This study evaluated the effectiveness, efficiency, direct costs and damages to PCTs (potential crop trees) and their natural regeneration after implementation of two methods of competitor trees elimination, directional felling and standing tree elimination (poison-girdling) in a natural semi deciduous forest in Caazapa, Paraguay.

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M.Sc. forest. trop. Giovanna Da Ponte studied at the Forestry Faculty in the National University of Asunción in Paraguay. She has also a Bachelor in English language. In the year 2009 finished her masters studies in "Tropical Forestry" at the Technische Universitaet Dresden. She works currently at the NGO Fundacion Moises Bertoni in Paraguay.

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