Silviculture

Silviculture

Silviculture is the practice of controlling the establishment, growth, composition, health, and quality of forests to meet diverse needs and values. The name comes from the Latinsilvi- (forest) + culture (as in growing). The study of forests and woods is termed silvology.

Regeneration
Forest regeneration is the act of renewing tree cover by establishing young trees naturallyor artificially, generally promptly after the previous stand or forest has been removed. The method, species, and density are chosen to meet the goal of the landowner. Forest regeneration includespractices such as changes in tree plant density through human-assisted natural regeneration, enrichment planting, reduced grazing of forested savannas, and changes in tree provenances/genetics or treespecies. "Human-assisted natural regeneration" means establishment of a forest age class from natural seeding or sprouting after harvesting through selection cutting, shelter (or seed-tree) harvest,soil preparation, or restricting the size of a clear-cut stand to secure natural regeneration from surrounding trees. "Enrichment planting" means increasing the planting density (i.e., the numbers ofplants per hectare) in an already growing forest stand."[1]

Common methods


Silvicultural regeneration methods combine both the harvest of the timber on the stand and re-establishment of theforest. The proper practice of sustainable forestry[ should mitigate the potential negative impacts, but all harvest methods will have some impacts on the land and residual stand. The practice ofsustainable forestry limits the impacts such that the values of the forest are maintained in perpetuity. Following are some common methods:


Single-tree selection - The single-tree selection method is anuneven-aged regeneration method most suitable when shade tolerant species regeneration is desired. It is typical for older and diseased trees to be removed, thus thinning the stand and allowing for...