Topic 10.1: Protecting Future Crop Trees (FCTs)

Uncontrolled logging and other destructive forest product harvesting operations often result in the death or damage of a high proportion of advanced regeneration of commercial, or potentially commercial species.  The deleterious impacts of poor harvesting were discussed in detail in Chapter 6, but because the problem of uncontrolled logging is so widespread, it seems worthwhile to mention them again. Furthermore, many of the stand manipulations discussed in this chapter as methods for enhancing natural regeneration rely on logging as a silvicultural treatment. It is assumed, however, that when harvesting is carried out for both immediate financial and longer-term silvicultural purposes, it is properly planned and carried out by trained people in a controlled manner.

When approaching harvesting as an integral component of a forest management strategy, the biology of the target species must be taken into account.  For species that are well represented in the understory prior to harvesting, protection during harvesting is of the utmost importance. For these species, the other major silvicultural consideration is the extent of canopy opening that best promotes their growth.  For species only sparsely represented by advanced regeneration, the forest managers needs to know how to promote both regeneration and growth.