Discover the science and methods of silviculture, the management of forests
Discover the science and methods of silviculture, the management of forests
Overview of silviculture.
© Forestry Works (A Britannica Publishing Partner)
Transcript
[MUSIC PLAYING] SPEAKER: Silviculture is the art and science of managing the establishment, growth, composition, and health of forests. Stands are portions of a forest with similar characteristics designated by easily identifiable boundaries and managed as units. A forest is a collection of stands, therefore, forest management involves managing the stands that make up the forest. Tolerance is a term used to indicate a tree's capacity to develop and grow in competition with other trees. Trees compete with neighboring trees and plants for nutrients, light, and water.
Site quality refers to the productive capacity of the site and is influenced by soil nutrients, moisture, climate, and topography. Site index is a measure of the site quality. Generally, the higher the site quality, the higher the productive capacity.
Forest stands develop naturally as trees grow, reproduce, and die. Natural regeneration occurs when seeds germinate to produce seedlings, or when stumps or roots sprout, or coppice following the removal of a hardwood tree. Even aged stands usually occur after some disturbance in the stand that removes most or all of the overstory. Uneven age stands have at least three well-defined age classes differing in height, age, and diameter. Uneven age stands usually develop as a result of disturbances that create favorable condition for seeds to sprout, but do not affect the entire stand.
There are a few different silviculture methods that can be chosen when managing a stand. Clear cutting occurs when the overstory is removed in one harvest. This system is used to replace old stands with new, vigorous stands. The second method is called seed tree. Here, the entire cutting unit is managed as with the clear cut method, but for a designated time period, a small number of mature trees per acre are left as a seed source for the next generation of trees.
The third method is the shelterwood process. This management method generally uses three harvesting steps. The preparatory cut improves seed trees so they can produce a healthy cone crop. The establishment cut provides growing space for regeneration and shelter for young growing seedlings. The removal cut is the final harvest of seed trees.
Uneven age silvicultural methods occur when individual trees or small groups of trees are harvested over a relatively short intervals. This process depends on establishing reproduction and providing space for it to grow. Having a regeneration plan in advance of timber harvesting is critical to proper forest management.
Natural regeneration takes advantage of existing trees growing on a site as a seed source for the next crop of trees. Artificial regeneration can occur through direct seeding or planting.
Following the harvest, sites are commonly prepared for planting. Site preparation objectives generally include the removal or reduction of logging debris and slash, reducing competing vegetation, improving soil characteristics, and providing better site access for planting.
Site preparation may involve multiple treatments. Prescribed fires expose minerals seed bed that's useful for natural regeneration. It can also help in controlling competing vegetation, and is most effective in combination with mechanical or chemical treatments. Chopping involves rolling a heavy steel drum with cutting blades across a site to kill existing vegetation and compress woody debris. It results in a better site preparation for burning.
Sharing cuts vegetation and stumps by mechanical means and is typically followed by piling or burning. Piling is also known as root breaking. It is the movement of woody biomass into piles to clear the site after harvesting. Fire is often used to dispose of piled and wood road debris.
Soil manipulation may occur as part of the regeneration plan of a stand. Discing is the breaking up of the soil surface to improve aeration and water movement to allow for better growth. Bedding raises the planting beds and is most often used in area with high standing water, or if the surface drainage is poor.
Ripping may be used where a hard pan or impervious level exists in the soil that would impede root growth. Chemical site preparation is often used to control a wide range of competing plants. The next step after site preparation is planting.
Planting with containerized seedlings may begin in the fall and proceed through the winter. Best growth in survival occurs when seedlings are planted in moist soils in the late fall and winter. There are two methods of planting, machine and hand planting.
In the first, tractor pulled machine is fixed with a coulter for slicing through the soil. The next is hand planting, individuals or planting crews use hand tools to plant seedlings. Based on site conditions, fertilization at planting may be done to improve early seedling growth.
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Site quality refers to the productive capacity of the site and is influenced by soil nutrients, moisture, climate, and topography. Site index is a measure of the site quality. Generally, the higher the site quality, the higher the productive capacity.
Forest stands develop naturally as trees grow, reproduce, and die. Natural regeneration occurs when seeds germinate to produce seedlings, or when stumps or roots sprout, or coppice following the removal of a hardwood tree. Even aged stands usually occur after some disturbance in the stand that removes most or all of the overstory. Uneven age stands have at least three well-defined age classes differing in height, age, and diameter. Uneven age stands usually develop as a result of disturbances that create favorable condition for seeds to sprout, but do not affect the entire stand.
There are a few different silviculture methods that can be chosen when managing a stand. Clear cutting occurs when the overstory is removed in one harvest. This system is used to replace old stands with new, vigorous stands. The second method is called seed tree. Here, the entire cutting unit is managed as with the clear cut method, but for a designated time period, a small number of mature trees per acre are left as a seed source for the next generation of trees.
The third method is the shelterwood process. This management method generally uses three harvesting steps. The preparatory cut improves seed trees so they can produce a healthy cone crop. The establishment cut provides growing space for regeneration and shelter for young growing seedlings. The removal cut is the final harvest of seed trees.
Uneven age silvicultural methods occur when individual trees or small groups of trees are harvested over a relatively short intervals. This process depends on establishing reproduction and providing space for it to grow. Having a regeneration plan in advance of timber harvesting is critical to proper forest management.
Natural regeneration takes advantage of existing trees growing on a site as a seed source for the next crop of trees. Artificial regeneration can occur through direct seeding or planting.
Following the harvest, sites are commonly prepared for planting. Site preparation objectives generally include the removal or reduction of logging debris and slash, reducing competing vegetation, improving soil characteristics, and providing better site access for planting.
Site preparation may involve multiple treatments. Prescribed fires expose minerals seed bed that's useful for natural regeneration. It can also help in controlling competing vegetation, and is most effective in combination with mechanical or chemical treatments. Chopping involves rolling a heavy steel drum with cutting blades across a site to kill existing vegetation and compress woody debris. It results in a better site preparation for burning.
Sharing cuts vegetation and stumps by mechanical means and is typically followed by piling or burning. Piling is also known as root breaking. It is the movement of woody biomass into piles to clear the site after harvesting. Fire is often used to dispose of piled and wood road debris.
Soil manipulation may occur as part of the regeneration plan of a stand. Discing is the breaking up of the soil surface to improve aeration and water movement to allow for better growth. Bedding raises the planting beds and is most often used in area with high standing water, or if the surface drainage is poor.
Ripping may be used where a hard pan or impervious level exists in the soil that would impede root growth. Chemical site preparation is often used to control a wide range of competing plants. The next step after site preparation is planting.
Planting with containerized seedlings may begin in the fall and proceed through the winter. Best growth in survival occurs when seedlings are planted in moist soils in the late fall and winter. There are two methods of planting, machine and hand planting.
In the first, tractor pulled machine is fixed with a coulter for slicing through the soil. The next is hand planting, individuals or planting crews use hand tools to plant seedlings. Based on site conditions, fertilization at planting may be done to improve early seedling growth.
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