Silvicultural Research And The Evolution Of Forest Practices In The Douglas Fir Region

Silvicultural practices in the Douglas-fir region evolved through a combination of formal research, observation, and practical experience of forest managers and silviculturists, and changing economic and social factors. This process began more than a century ago and still continues. It has had a great influence on the economic well-being of the region and on the present characteristics of the regions forests. This long history is unknown to most of the public, and much of it is unfamiliar to many natural resource specialists outside (and even within) the field of silviculture. We trace the history of how we got where we are today and the contribution of silvicultural research to the evolution of forest practices. We give special attention to the large body of information developed in the first half of the past century that is becoming increasingly unfamiliar to both operational foresters andperhaps more importantlyto those engaged in forestry research. We also discuss some current trends in silviculture and silviculture-related research.

Silvicultural knowledge & practice have been evolving in the Pacific Northwest for nearly a century. This report on research & management activities includes: foundations & definitions; historical development of silviculture in the Douglas-Fir Region; forest conditions, stand development, & management goals; generation methods; shaping development of young natural stands & plantations; harvesting considerations; providing diverse structures & habitats; maintaining site productivity; damaging agents & forest health; management choices; information needs; policy questions; references; management scenarios; & glossary.

The most up-to-date, comprehensive resource on silviculture that covers the range of topics and issues facing today’s foresters and resource professionals The tenth edition of the classic work, The Practice of Silviculture: Applied Forest Ecology, includes the most current information and the results of research on the many issues that are relevant to forests and forestry. The text covers such timely topics as biofuels and intensive timber production, ecosystem and landscape scale management of public lands, ecosystem services, surface drinking water supplies, urban and community greenspace, forest carbon, fire and climate, and much more. In recent years, silvicultural systems have become more sophisticated and complex in application, particularly with a focus on multi-aged silviculture. There have been paradigm shifts toward managing for more complex structures and age-classes for integrated and complementary values including wildlife, water and open space recreation. Extensively revised and updated, this new edition covers a wide range of topics and challenges relevant to the forester or resource professional today. This full-color text offers the most expansive book on silviculture and: Includes a revised and expanded text with clear language and explanations Covers the many cutting-edge resource issues that are relevant to forests and forestry Contains boxes within each chapter to provide greater detail on particular silvicultural treatments and examples of their use Features a completely updated bibliography plus new photographs, tables and figures The Practice of Silviculture: Applied Forest Ecology, Tenth Edition is an invaluable resource for students and professionals in forestry and natural resource management.

Much of the world's forested land is dominated by mixed-species stands. Understanding the complex structure and dynamics of these mixtures is a necessary step in the process of formulating appropriate silvicultural systems for their management. David M. Smith, Professor Emeritus of Silviculture at Yale University, has devoted much of his career to the study of the structure, development, and silvicultural treatment of these kinds of stands. This volume is presented by Professor Smith's collegues to honor the contributions he has made to the field. It contains both reviews of past work and results of current studies of mixed stands: topics range from analysis of forest dynamics in unmanaged stands to studies of silvicultural systems applied to mixtures, with examples drawn from boreal, temperate, and tropical regions. Much of the work stresses the importance of understanding the characteristic growth patterns of individual species within mixed stands, and how species interactions shape developmental patterns.

This report describes the origin, design, establishment and measurement procedures and first results of a large long-term cooperative study comparing a number of widely different silvicultural regimes applied to young-growth Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) stands managed for multiple objectives. Regimes consist of (1) conventional clearcutting followed by intermediate thinning; (2) retention of reserve trees to create a two-aged stand; (3) small patch cuts dispersed within a thinned matrix, repeated at approximately 15-year intervals to create a mosaic of age classes; (4) group selection within a thinned matrix on an approximate 15-year cycle; (5) continued thinning on an extended rotation; and (6) an untreated control. Each of these regimes is on operationsize units (about 30 to 70 acres each). Output variables to be evaluated include conventional timber growth and yield statistics, harvest costs, sale layout and administration costs, aesthetic effects and public acceptance, soil disturbance, bird populations, and economic aspects. Descriptive statistics and some initial results are presented for the first replicate, established in 1997-98.