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Multi-scale assessments highlight silvicultural opportunities to increase species diversity and spatial variability in forests

Foresters influence short- and long-term development of plant neighbourhoods, stands and landscapes by their management practices. In the past, most of these practices have aimed to homogenize the composition and structure of stands for efficient wood production. This publication provides an overvie...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Forestry (London) 2014, Vol.87 (1), p.1-10
Main Authors: Puettmann, Klaus J, Tappeiner, John C
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:Foresters influence short- and long-term development of plant neighbourhoods, stands and landscapes by their management practices. In the past, most of these practices have aimed to homogenize the composition and structure of stands for efficient wood production. This publication provides an overview of and guidance on how to recognize and efficiently utilize opportunities to modify silvicultural practices, with the goal of increasing species diversity and spatial variability within stands and landscapes at minimum cost. We suggest a procedure for selecting candidate treatments that might be used in this way. We further suggest that multi-scale evaluations (e.g. different objectives, such as economic vs ecological goals; different time frames from short-term to rotation lengths; and longer, different spatial scales from plant neighbourhoods to landscapes) can highlight opportunities to increase species diversity and spatial variability during implementations of ‘standard’ forest management practices. For example, opportunities may derive from situations where management practices did not achieve their intended goals or where natural disturbances can be viewed as stimuli that initiate opportunities to increase heterogeneity. With modifications, silvicultural responses to such conditions can provide efficient, low-cost (or even cost saving) means to increase species diversity and spatial variability. Using replanting, treatment of ‘minority’ species, variable spacing guidelines, and other examples, we show how varying the spatial and time scales of evaluations for such modified treatments can influence conclusions about costs and ecological impacts. Consequently, the choice of evaluation scales can be a deciding factor in whether treatment modifications are considered as economically justifiable ways to achieve a suite of diverse objectives.
ISSN:0015-752X
1464-3626
DOI:10.1093/forestry/cpt050