Selection cutting is used for the majority of shade-tolerant hardwood forests. About every 20 to 30 years, individual mature and declining (diseased or unhealthy) trees are cut. The growth rate and quality of the remaining trees improves, and young trees of the shade-tolerant species become established in the mostly-shaded understory. Selection cutting imitates minor natural disturbances like wind and disease, and perpetuates an all-aged tolerant hardwood forest.

Tolerant hardwood forests are characteristic of much of Central Ontario. The term tolerant refers to the ability of certain types of trees, like sugar maple and beech, to survive and grow in the well-shaded understory of the forest. These forests tend to be all-aged - they have all age groups of trees, from very young to very old, represented in the same stand.

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