Research Draft #2: Improved Forest Management

Improving Forest Management

            The forest industry is extremely concerned with the future of forests. In order to continue to harvest wood, convert it to demanded products and market those products at reasonable prices, it must be done safely and in a way that the forest will be renewed with healthy, well-stocked stands of trees. It is very important to develop multiple uses of forest land by doing everything practicable to protect soil, water, wildlife, recreational, aesthetic, and other environmental values. (Sierra Pacific Industries, 2011). Fortunately, trees are a renewable natural resource. Proper forestry practices will insure a never ending supply of trees to me the worlds demand for forestry products and uses (McEvoy, 2008).  Although timber harvests and logging techniques of the past may have been destructive to the environment, modern forestry practices prevent destruction to the environment from timber harvests and logging because of erosion prevention and water quality control, the ability of foresters to choose the appropriate harvest methods, and the reclamation of logging sites for future forest development.

Forestry is the art and science which deals with the management of current and future tree resources.  The main point of forestry and forest management is to develop and follow systems that allow forests to continue on a sustainable path, insuring that environmental supplies and services are met today and in the future (Sierra Pacific Industries, 2011). Forest management activities associated with logging include road construction and timber harvest.  These operations can easily disturb soil if not managed and monitored.  Disturbed soil is very often the cause of erosion and sedimentation which seriously jeopardizes water quality in nearby streams, lakes and watersheds. The continuation of high quality water and the fertility of soil are important goals and objectives for land managers aside from the maximization of harvest yield.  It is very important for loggers, foresters, and landowners to make the appropriate decisions and follow through with well planned actions.  Their methods and choices will have long lasting and wide ranging effects (Sierra Pacific Industries, 2011). Land managers, foresters, and land owners may even be held liable for water contamination or pollution resulting from timber harvesting operations.  This puts serious pressure on these professionals to take every step necessary to prevent soil loss, erosion and water pollution.

Streamside management zones are relatively undisturbed buffer areas that extend around the boundaries of water ways. They are located around perennial and intermittent streams, vernal ponds, lakes, natural springs, and reservoirs. These buffer areas trap and filter out suspended sediments before they can enter waterways. Buffer areas always require special attention in a harvest or logging operation.  While some trees may be harvested from the streamside management zones or buffers, operations in this area should not cause any soil disturbance. If soil disturbance does occur, the area should be stabilized immediately and monitored.  Sediment barriers should be installed between the stream and the disturbed area if necessary.  Sediment barriers are also used a lot in the construction of logging roads and trails.

There is a lot of road construction associated with logging practices.  Techniques have been developed to help minimize and reduce soil erosion.  Before any trees are cut down, the timber harvest begins with the planning of roads, trails, and landing locations.  During planning, forestry professionals and loggers will design logging roads and trails in a way so that their length and widths are made to minimal requirements. Landings for logs and equipment should be planned to disturb the smallest possible land area.  All of the physical land alterations should be well thought out and performed on firm, well-drained ground. Slash and residue piles should be made away from drainages or streams, for these can cause an overload of nutrients into ground water and runoff.  Ground disturbance should be minimized and fixed properly.  There should be as few stream crossings during logging activity as possible.  Stream Crossings require the use of structures to allow the water to pass under the road. In most cases this will be a culvert pipe that is correctly sized for drainage of the land area above the stream crossing location.

The timber harvest is the physical part of forest management and is designed to utilize trees at the proper time of their life cycle, start a new stand of desired species on the harvested area, and provide space for their growth. Each timber harvest is different because each forest and every tree is unique.  The removal of surplus cull trees, also called thinning, is a part of improved harvest cutting.  This thinning is very important and provides trees with improved sunlight, water availability, and nutrient content of root soils (Thompson et. al., 2007).  Several different improved harvesting methods may be used either on their own or in combination with other methods. The timber harvest methods most commonly used are selective cutting, diameter-limit cutting, shelter wood, and Clear cutting. The first two methods result in uneven-aged stands and the later two in even-aged stands (Pulkki, 2010).

Selective Cutting is the removal of selected stems throughout the range of merchantable sizes at more or less frequent intervals indefinitely. Trees are selected and marked for removal either singly or in small groups. Diameter-limit cutting is the periodic harvest of all trees above a set size, usually the diameter at stump height. Although this is a form of selective cutting, usually removes only the largest trees from the stand at each harvest. This is in contrast to true selective cutting which removes merchantable trees in all sizes in a controlled manner. Diameter limits should be varied by species in most stands, and set so that adequate stocking remains after each harvest (Craig and MacDonald, 2009). The method is most useful in low-grade timber like interior Alaska’s Boreal Forest where more intensive methods are not justified (Fleming and Baldwin, 2008).

Shelter wood Cutting is the harvest of the entire stand in two or more cuts spaced over several years. The main purpose is to insure renewal of a new stand of trees before the final harvest. It is best adapted to the more shade-tolerant species. In actual practice, nearly all hardwood stands renew themselves even after a burn, without keeping an over story (Thompson et. al., 2007). Clear cutting is the harvest of all merchantable trees from an area and the killing or cutting of all non merchantable stems larger than about 2 inches in diameter at breast height or more than 25 feet tall (Rosenvald and Lohmus, 2008).  The purpose of removing the non merchantable stems is to allow the new natural reproduction to grow vigorously without serious competition from residual trees. Under the clear cutting method, trees are harvested by selected areas rather than by selected stems (Pulkki, 2010).  Clear cut timber harvests are the most economically efficient.  This is why they were used as the primary harvest method for hundreds of years before we understood how they can affect total ecosystems if not properly planned and managed.

At the completion of forest harvest operations, reclamation of the logging site and roads is required to stabilize any disturbed soil and to minimize the potential for erosion and sedimentation. Successful reclamation may require the use of lime and fertilizer along with a seed mixture to encourage and ensure seed germination and growth (Timoney et. al., 1997). In addition, skid and haul road reclamation requires removal of large berms, out sloping, the smoothing of road surfaces, and installation of water bars. Reclamation activities should begin as soon as work is completed in each area of operation (Timoney et. al., 1997).

As part of the reclamation process, soil may need to be scarified before seeding if it is compacted. Native grasses and other fast growing plants provide quick ground cover for soil stabilization and seeding is recommended (Busby et. al., 2009). Dry sites and areas where the subsoil is exposed may require lime and fertilizer. The amount of lime or fertilizer needed is site specific and can be determined by conducting soil tests and referring to soil professionals. Slash (which includes limbs, tops and unused logs) remaining from the timber operation can also be dispersed in the forest area to supplement soil protection (Nix, 2011).

Forests provide humans with many products and services.  It is essential to manage these renewable resources in such a way so that they can be useful and enjoyable to future generations. Logging operations in the past degraded the land and water surrounding the harvest areas.  These poor logging practices have been replaced by modern management and improved harvesting techniques.

Foresters, land managers, environmental scientists, and natural resource specialists have an educated and well versed understanding of how to prevent land and water degradation, promote forest regeneration, maximize growth, maximize profits, efficiently harvest selected trees in the appropriately harvest method, and reclaim the land by making it able to grow trees again and again following each harvest. This is a cycle and it can go on forever.  I am studying forestry here at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and graduating this spring.  I am confident that with the education I have received here at UAF, I can manage land for the maximization of profits from harvesting and growing trees while protecting and maintaining the land for future forests and harvests.

Sources

Busby, P. E., Foster, D. R., Motzkin, G., & Canham, C. D. (2009). Forest response to chronic hurricane disturbance in coastal New England [electronic resource]. Journal of vegetation science, 20(3), 487-497. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Craig A. and Macdonald S.E. (2009). Threshold effects of variable retention harvesting on understory plant communities in the boreal mixedwood forest, Forest Ecology and Management 258, pp. 2619–2627.

Fleming R.L. and Baldwin K.A. (2008). Effects of harvest intensity and aspect on a boreal transition tolerant hardwood forest. I. Initial postharvest understory composition, Canadian Journal of Forest Research 38, pp. 685–697.

McEvoy, T.J. (2008). The Path to Good Forestry is Riddled with Myths. Retrieved from www.farmingmagazine.com/print-38.aspx

Nix, S. (2011). Beyond the Harvest. Retrieved from http://forestry.about.com/cs/homeworkhelp/a/ClrcutBASF.htm

Pulkki, R.P. (2010). Harvesting Methods and Systems Defined. Retrieved from www.borealforest.org/world/innova/harvesting.htm.

Rosenvald R. and Lohmus A. (2008). For what, when, and where is green-tree retention better than clear cutting? A review of the biodiversity aspects, Forest Ecology and Management 255, pp. 1–15.

Sierra Pacific Industries. (2011). Sierra Pacific Forest Management. Retrieved from www.spi-ind.com/html/forests_management.cfm

Timoney K.P., Peterson G. and Wein R. (1997). Vegetation development of boreal riparian plant communities after flooding, fire, and logging, Peace River, Canada, Forest Ecology and Management 93, pp. 101–120.

Thompson, R. D., Lewis, K. J., & Daniels, L. D. (2007). A new dendroecological method to differentiate growth responses to fine-scale disturbance from regional-scale environmental variation [electronic resource]. Canadian journal of forest research, 37(6), 1034-1043. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.