PRACTICAL ASPECTS OF FOREST DYNAMICS

Silviculture is the theory and practic of controlling forest establishment, composition and growth. It is the manipulation of forests to enhance certain forest values or products.

Two extremes of silviculture are:

1. Arboriculture is intensive management of planted forests.

2. Naturalistic silviculture is the manipulation of natural processes of stand dynamics.

A silvicultural system is a long range harvest and management scheme designed to optimize growth, regeneration and other forest values (e.g. wood quality, tree health, wildife habitat, watershed protection, etc.). In practice, silvicultural systems are largely harvesting systems.

Harvesting or silvicultural systems are appropriate for two different types of forest structure determined by the regeneration ecology of the tree species. These two types of forest structure are:

a. Even-aged--trees of the same age, shade-intolerant, dependent on large-scale openings for regeneration.

b. Uneven-aged-- trees of different ages, shade-tolerant, not dependent on large openings for regeneration.

Even-aged methods include:

1. Clearcutting and patch cutting.

2. Seed tree method.

3. Shelterwood.

4. Coppice method.

Uneven-aged methods include:

1. Single-tree selection.

2. Group selection.