peer review of: The so-called "art and science of growing trees" is made possible by utilizing a variety of different tools to strategically manipulate and enhance the productivity of a stand. In the rather large time scale for which trees grow, time is an essential element to ensure success by limiting competition, especially in the stand initiation phase where the trajectory moving forward is set. To foster the ability to outcompete and target unwanted organisms as part of the land management objective, the tools shown in the image above can be used to broadly solve and balance these issues. Productivity and available growing space is made possible by the utilization of such tools in a time where a diverse group of species are "pushing and shoving" for resources and can ultimately lead to mortality. While aside from fertilization (NPK bag) the remaining tools mainly revolve around site preparation and furthermore vegetation management, they must all be carefully placed to be effective. Burning for example wouldn't make a lot of sense after planting new, struggling seedlings. Similarly, fertilizing, an already expensive endeavor, wouldn't necessarily seem beneficial before broadcast spraying or burning because other organisms may benefit from it as well if improving the growth rate is the goal. At the end of the day, all these tools can ultimately impact available nutrition and site productivity because of the "daisy chain" role they play. Everything is an investment to reduce the rotation length whether direct or indirect and again, plays into long-term thinking