Overview of silviculture
During the past thirty years, the major trends in silviculture were: no timber famine developed, although timber was scarce in some species and qualities. Along with paper and lumber production, annual wood removals increased in practically every region for both softweeds and hardwoods. Growing stock was up in every region except the Pacific coast, where the high volume of old growth was replaced with young stands. Mechanized silvicultural operations that minimized manpower were products of the cheap-machine era. Most apparent forestry successes were with even-age, single-species stands. Timber for wood products was the primary incentive for silvicultural manipulations. Intensive silvicultural operations occurred on a small proportion of commercial forest land. During the next 30 years, the following questions are likely to be important: should investments be made to increase growth in the most desirable stands or to upgrade less-than-desirable stands. Should dense, small-diameter stands be harvested or be left to grow slowly. Should cull trees in high graded stands be removed to release potentially vigorous regeneration. Should intensive site preparation, regeneration, and timber-stand improvement efforts be made to regenerate harvested conifer stands in the East with another rotation of conifers, or should stands be allowed to grow naturally to predominant hardwoods. Should stand structures be manipulated to promote alternate uses, such as hunting and camping. 21 references.
- Research Organization:
- Univ. of Washington, Seattle
- OSTI ID:
- 7049741
- Journal Information:
- J. For.; (United States), Vol. 84:4
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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