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Thresholds define the time when management action is required to prevent a loss in yield, but have remained relatively elusive in forest vegetation management. Hundreds of studies quantifying the effects of competing vegetation in young forest stands, however, have produced reasonably consistent patterns and magnitudes of tree responses. These consistencies reveal a set of general guidelines that can be used to assist forest managers in deciding when vegetation management treatments are needed. Among the variety of vegetation management thresholds that have been defined, competition and critical-period thresholds can be interpreted from existing forest vegetation research. Competition thresholds define the vegetation density at which yield loss begins to occur and varies depending on whether the manager's objective is to maximize survival, height increment, basal area growth, or biomass. These …