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ECOLOGICAL SILVICULTURAL SYSTEMS
Unleash the natural power and adaptability of forests with this cutting-edge guide
For generations, silvicultural systems have focused largely on models whose primary objective is the production of timber, leading to drastically simplified forests with reduced ecological richness, diversity, and complexity. Ecological silviculture, by contrast, focuses on producing and maintaining forests with "all their parts"--, that is, with the diversity and flexibility to respond and adapt to global changes. Ecological silviculture seeks to emulate natural development models and sustain healthy forests serving multiple values and goals.
Ecological Silvicultural Systems provides a comprehensive introduction to these approaches and their benefits tailored to diverse types of forests, designed for forest management professionals. It provides a series of exemplary models for ecological silviculture and surveys the resulting forest ecosystems. The result is a text that meets the needs of professionals in forestry and natural resource management with an eye towards sustaining healthy forest ecosystems, adapting them to climate change, protecting them from invasive species, and responding to changing market forces.
Ecological Silvicultural Systems readers will also find:
* Detailed treatment of forest ecosystems in North America, Europe, South America, and Australia
* A broad field of contributors with decades of combined expertise on multiple continents
* Discussion of pine woodlands; temperate hardwood forests, boreal forests, temperate rainforests, and more
Ecological Silvicultural Systems is a useful reference for professional foresters, wildlife habitat managers, restoration ecologists, and undergraduate and graduate students in any of these fields.
List of contents
List of Contributors xv
Preface xviii
Acknowledgments xix
1 The Context of Ecological Silviculture 1
Brian J. Palik and Anthony W. D'Amato
1.1 What Is Ecological Silviculture? 1
1.2 How Does Ecological Silviculture Differ from Classical Commodity- Focused Silviculture? 2
1.3 Why Is Ecological Silviculture Needed? 2
1.4 What Are the Foundational Concepts of Ecological Silviculture? 3
1.5 What to Expect from the Chapters that Follow? 8
References 8
2 Ecological Silviculture for Great Lakes Red Pine Ecosystems 11
Brian J. Palik and Anthony W. D'Amato
2.1 Introduction 11
2.2 Characteristics of Red Pine Ecosystems 11
2.2.1 Composition and Structure 11
2.2.2 Natural Disturbance Regime 13
2.2.3 Natural Development Model 14
2.2.3.1 Disturbance and Legacy Creation 14
2.2.3.2 Preforest Stage 14
2.2.3.3 Young Forest Stage 15
2.2.3.4 Mature Forest Stage 15
2.2.3.5 Old Forest Stage 15
2.2.3.6 The Cycle of Disturbance and Development 16
2.3 An Ecological Silvicultural System for Red Pine Ecosystems 16
2.3.1 Disturbance and Legacy Creation 17
2.3.2 Preforest Stage 17
2.3.3 Young Forest Stage (Early) 19
2.3.4 Young Forest Stage (Later) 19
2.3.5 Mature Forest Stage 20
2.3.6 Old Forest Stage 21
2.3.7 Natural- Origin Stands Versus Plantations 21
2.4 Climate Change Considerations 22
2.5 Summary 22
References 23
3 Ecological Silviculture for Northern Hardwood Ecosystems of Northeastern U.S. 25
Anthony W. D'Amato
3.1 Introduction 25
3.2 Characteristics of Northern Hardwood Ecosystems 26
3.2.1 Composition and Structure 26
3.2.2 Historical Natural Disturbance Regime 28
3.2.3 Natural Development Model 28
3.2.3.1 Disturbance and Legacy Creation 29
3.2.3.2 Preforest Stage 29
3.2.3.3 Young Forest Stage 30
3.2.3.4 Mature Forest Stage 30
3.2.3.5 Old Forest Stage 30
3.2.4 The Cycle of Disturbance and Development 30
3.3 An Ecological Silvicultural System for Northern Hardwood Ecosystems 31
3.3.1 Disturbance and Legacy Creation 31
3.3.2 Preforest Stage 31
3.3.3 Young Forest Stage (Early) 34
3.3.4 Young Forest Stage (Later) 34
3.3.5 Mature Forest Stage 34
3.3.6 Old Forest Stage 36
3.4 Climate Change Considerations 36
3.5 Summary 37
References 38
4 Ecological Silviculture in Douglas- fir-Western Hemlock Ecosystems 40
Abraham Wheeler, Jerry F. Franklin, and Stephanie J. Wessell
4.1 Introduction 40
4.2 Characteristics of Douglas- fir-Western Hemlock Ecosystems 41
4.2.1 Tree Species Composition 41
4.2.2 Natural Disturbance Regime and Developmental Model 41
4.2.2.1 Natural Disturbance 41
4.2.2.2 Preforest Stage 41
4.2.2.3 Young Forest Stage 42
4.2.2.4 Mature Forest Stage 42
4.2.2.5 Old Forest Stage 42
4.3 Essential Elements of an Ecological Silvicultural System for Douglas-fir-Western Hemlock Ecosystems 42
4.3.1 Landscape Context 43
4.3.2 Special Features 43
4.3.3 Spatial Heterogeneity 43
4.3.4 Structural Retention 43
4.3.5 Species Diversity 43
4.3.6 Limited Use of Chemicals 44
4.3.7 Regeneration Approaches 44
4.3.8 Silvicultural System 44
4.3.8.1 Emulating Natural Disturbance 44
4.3.8.2 Long Reco
About the author
Brian J. Palik, PhD, is a research ecologist with the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Northern Research Station, Grand Rapids, MN, USA. He has published widely on the ecological sustainability of managed forests and related fields.
Anthony W. D'Amato, PhD, is Professor of Silviculture and Applied Forest Ecology and Director of the Forestry Program at the University of Vermont, USA. He has researched and published extensively on long-term forest dynamics and silvicultural strategies to foster adaptive forests.
