Continuous Cover Forestry

Although the majority of the world’s forest ecosystems are dominated by uneven-sized multi-species stands, forest management practice and theory has focused on the development of plantation monocultures to maximize the supply of timber at low cost. Societal expectations are changing, however, and uneven-aged multi-species ecosystems, selectively managed as Continuous Cover Forestry (CCF), are often believed to be superior to monocultures in addressing a wide range of expectations. This book presents methods which are relevant to CCF management and planning: analysing forest structures, silvicultural and planning, economic evaluation, based on examples in Europe, Asia, Africa and North and South America.

Although the majority of the world’s forest ecosystems are dominated by uneven-sized multi-species stands, forest management practice and theory has focused on the development of plantation monocultures to maximize the supply of timber at low cost. Societal expectations are changing, however, and uneven-aged multi-species ecosystems, selectively managed as Continuous Cover Forestry (CCF), are often believed to be superior to monocultures in addressing a wide range of expectations. This book presents methods which are relevant to CCF management and planning: analysing forest structures, silvicultural and planning, economic evaluation, based on examples in Europe, Asia, Africa and North and South America.

The large-scale application of new silvicultural systems has become a political reality in many parts of the world. This involves a gradual transformation of traditional silvicultural practice towards Continuous Cover Forestry, also known as near-natural forest management, favouring mixed uneven-aged stands, site-adapted tree species and selective harvesting. Selective harvesting systems have a long tradition. Specific CCF-related resource assessment, forecasting and sustainable harvest control techniques have been developed, but details about their use are not widely known. The objective of this volume is to present state-of-the-art research results and techniques relating to CCF management with an emphasis on systems engineering and modelling. Using a very simple classification based on the development of timber volume over age or time we may distinguish two types of sustainable forest management systems. Rotation forest management (RFM) systems, characterized by standard silvicultural treatments and repetitive cycles of clearfelling followed by planting; and continuous cover forestry (CCF) systems which are characterized by selective harvesting and natural regeneration, resulting in uneven-aged structures and frequently also in multi-species forests. The distinction is usually the result of decisions relating to the cost of timber harvesting, simplicity of management, or various intangible benefits. The oldest and most perfect examples of CCF systems are the so called plenter selection forests found in France, Switzerland, Slowenia and Germany. Today, CCF systems are encountered in various regions of Europe, North America and in some tropical and sub-tropical forests of South Africa, Asia and South America.

CONTINUOUS COVER FORESTRY Gain expertise in the development of healthier, more sustainable forests with this indispensable guide Continuous Cover Forestry (CCF) is an approach to forest management with over a century of history, one which applies ecological principles to the project of developing biologically diverse, structurally complex forests. Long used as the standard forest management method in Central Europe, CCF is generating renewed interest globally for its potential to develop and sustain forests that can withstand climate change impacts, maintain forest biodiversity in the face of major ecological challenges and offer better recreation experience. There is an increasingly urgent need for forest scientists and policymakers to be familiar with the toolkit provided by CCF. Continuous Cover Forestry: Theories, Concepts, and Implementation provides a thorough, up-to-date introduction to the theory and practice of CCF. Beginning with an overview of the method’s history and its foundational principles, the book provides detailed guidance for applying CCF methods to a range of ecological scenarios and forest types. The result is a clear, comprehensive portrait of this increasingly effective set of forestry tools. Continuous Cover Forestry readers will also find: Case studies throughout showing CCF at work in real-world forests Detailed discussion of topics such as forest structure, transformation, silvicultural systems, training, carbon forestry, conservation and more R code ready to take and apply Simple, adaptable models for deriving quantitative guidelines for CCF woodlands Continuous Cover Forestry is ideal for students, scholars and practitioners of forest science, forest ecology, conservation, and environmental management, as well as policymakers dealing with forestry or climate policy.

Climate changes, particularly warming trends, have been recorded around the globe. For many countries, these changes in climate have become evident through insect epidemics (e.g., Mountain Pine Beetle epidemic in Western Canada, bark beetle in secondary spruce forests in Central Europe), water shortages and intense forest fires in the Mediterranean countries (e.g., 2005 droughts in Spain), and unusual storm activities (e.g., the 2004 South-East Asia Tsunami). Climate changes are expected to impact vegetation as manifested by changes in vegetation extent, migration of species, tree species composition, growth rates, and mortality. The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has included discussions on how forests may be impacted, and how they may be used to mitigate the impacts of changes in climate, to possibly slow the rate of change. This book provides current scientific information on the biological and economical impacts of climate changes in forest environments, as well as information on how forest management activities might mitigate these impacts, particularly through carbon sequestration. Case studies from a wide geographic range are presented. This information is beneficial to managers and researchers interested in climate change and impacts upon forest environments and economic activities. This volume, which forms part of Springer’s book series Managing Forest Ecosystems, presents state-of-the-art research results, visions and theories, as well as specific methods for sustainable forest management in changing climatic conditions.

This book presents the latest scientific and management information on multiaged silviculture, an emerging strategy for managing forestry systems worldwide. Over recent decades, forest science and management have tended to emphasize plantation silviculture. Whilst this clearly meets our wood production needs, many of the world's forests need to be managed far less intensively and more flexibly in order to maintain their natural ecosystem functions together with the values inherent in those processes. Developing multiaged management strategies for these complex forest ecosystems represents a global challenge to successfully integrate available science with sustainable management practices. Multiaged Silviculture covers the ecology and dynamics of multiaged stands, the management operations associated with regeneration, tending, and stocking control, and the implications of this strategy on production, genetic diversity, and stand health. It is primarily aimed at graduate level students and researchers in the fields of forestry and silviculture, but will also be of relevance and use to all professional foresters and silviculturists.