One year after clearcutting there should be at least 5,000 aspen root suckers per acre. This means aspen root suckers should be no more than three feet apart. Some stands may have up to 70,000 root suckers per acre. The more the better. You need many root suckers because aspen stands naturally thin themselves and suffer high losses to insects and diseases. Only by maintaining dense stands can you be assured of having merchantable volumes of wood to harvest.