Silviculture

Just as agriculture is the cultivation of fields, so silviculture (from the Latin sylva, meaning forest) is the cultivation of forest. Silviculture refers to the establishment and management of trees for wood production. The potential to manipulate tree and forest growth so as to enhance their value or the benefits they provide makes silviculture the most powerful tool of the farm forester. For example, as a result of careful pruning a tree that might otherwise only be of value for firewood can be turned into high value veneer or sawlog. Alternatively, a regrowth native forest dominated by just one tree species could be thinned to promote regeneration thereby enhancing its biodiversity.

Until the 18^th century silviculture was rudimentary and rarely practiced. The foresters of western Europe during the Middle Ages were mainly game wardens who patrolled hunting reserves for feudal landlords. Trees were treated as a readily available natural resource to be exploited without much regard for their replacement. Exploitation is still the rule in much of the world, particularly in the Tropics and in the boreal forests.

A silvicultural regime is a series of management interventions imposed on trees or forests over time, from establishment through to harvest and regeneration. Initially, decisions must be made about initial spacing, layout and establishment methods. Later the owner must decide about the time and timing of thinning, pruning, fire, grazing and harvesting. Choosing to let nature take its course is also a silvicultural decision. However, not intervening in a forest’s growth pattern is rarely the most appropriate strategy for achieving farmers’ preferred outcomes.

Forest growth is largely determined by how the mix of plants in the forest responds to the soil and climate in which they are growing. Silvicultural design and intervention enables farmers to direct this growth in an attempt to maximize the economic, environmental or aesthetic value of the forest. There are six aspects of silviculture that forest growers need to consider:

what to grow – the forest genetic composition.

preparing the site for the forest – modification of the physical environment.

spacing and thinning after establishment – managing the competition between trees.

pruning – treatment of individual trees.

managing pests, weeds,diseases and fire – forest protection.

harvesting timber and other forest products – harvesting options and techniques.

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