Topic 1.1: Course Philosophy, Approach, and General Expectations

Natural forest management can be defined as the art and science of controlling the composition, structure, and dynamics of forests for any of a variety of objectives.   Although the traditional focus of forest managers was on timber production, modern managers are expected to respond to society’s numerous and often conflicting demands about forests.  Sustained yield of timber is still a common goal, but carbon stocks, biodiversity, hydrological functions wildlife, non-timber forest products, and recreation receive as much or more attention from some important forest stakeholders. In other words, forests that provide marketable products and associated jobs are also expected to serve as recreation areas, watersheds, biodiversity refuges, and effective moderators of local and global climates. Foresters are expected to manage forests for these goods and services in ways that avoid losses of genetic, species-level, and landscape-level diversities while promoting social welfare; sometimes they are even expected to manage without any apparent disruptions of the purportedly pristine nature of old-growth forest.  With so broad an agenda it is sometimes difficult to distinguish the boundaries of natural forest management.

This book has a somewhat traditional focus on plants and plant products, especially trees, how they grow, and how forests can be managed so as to increase production of the desired species. Little is included about wildlife ecology, recreation, or hydrology except insofar as they are directly influenced by silvicultural treatments applied to increase the stocking or growth of timber and other plant products.  Even with this somewhat narrow focus on the ecological basis of silviculture, the fields of knowledge tapped include plant population biology, physiology, anatomy, wood technology, soil science, forest engineering, mensuration, and economics.

All too often forest managers make recommendations that are based on a sound understanding of the regeneration and growth requirements of the crop species but that are not followed because they are wrong for social, economic, or political reasons.  Even the emphasis on crop production is sometimes misplaced due to the overriding importance of other forest uses, such as for recreation or wildlife management.  Increasing pressure on forests worldwide is forcing foresters to manage the forests under their control in the broadest of contexts and to consider the full range of potential uses and users before making a recommendation.  Which silvicultural treatments to apply, at what spatial scales, and with what timing are all decisions with likely social implications, economic consequences, and political constraints.  Due to the need for silviculturalists to operate in realistic and broadly defined contexts, discussions of social and economic issues are interwoven in the text with more traditional silvicultural topics.