supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2017YFD060030205);the German Government loans for Sichuan Forestry Sustainable Management (Grant No. G1403083);the“Tianfu Ten Thousand Talents Plan”of Sichuan Province (Grant No. 1922999002). the financial support from the China Scholarship Council (Project No. 202006910045)
Background:Crop-tree thinning (CTT) is a forest management practice aiming at enhancing the growth of target trees in plantations by harvesting neighboring trees. Along with the positive effect on tree growth, thinnin...