A number of methods are practiced in the Nordic countries, most commonly the shelter method (Tham, 1988; Johansson and Lundh, 1991) and the "Kronoberg" method (Anon., 1985). The descriptions in the sections below are based on a mixed stand of birch and Norway spruce, since this is the most common situation, but the same techniques can be used for other broadleaved species with Norway spruce.

When managing this type of stand it is important that the density of the broadleaved stems is not too high once the spruces have been established. According to Braathe (1988), the competition is too strong for spruces if there are more than 1200 birches ha-1 and they are >3 m tall. In that case, he postulated a 30 % decrease in the height increment of the spruce.