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Silviculture
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The art and science of growing trees. The theory and practice of controlling the establishment, composition, growth, and quality of forest stands to achieve management objectives.
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Sustainable Forestry
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The practice of meeting the forest resource need without compromising the similar capability of future generations. |
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Forest Management Plan
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Foresters use various kinds of management practices including timber harvesting, tree planting and prescribed burning. Foresters can maximize the health, benefits, and products produced by a particular forest by using different approaches to harvesting, regenerating and growing forests to ensure the long-term health of the forest and achieve the highest economic returns possible.
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Shelterwood system
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Mature trees are harvested in a series of two or more partial cuts. The cuts stimulate the germination and rapid growth of a new forest in the shelter and the shade of mature trees which primarily provide seed for regenerating the site. |
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Preparatory cut
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A type of Shelterwood cut designed to enhance conditions for seed production. |
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Seed cut
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A type of Shelterwood cut designed to prepare the seedbed and create a new age class. |
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Removal cut
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Releases established regeneration from competition from the trees above them. |
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Clearcut
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All the trees are harvested in one cutting operation. In a modification of the clearcut system, called the “seed-tree method,” individual trees or groups of trees are left standing to provide seed for regeneration. The seed trees are large-crowned (capable of producing large quantities of seeds) and able to survive in windy, exposed conditions.
A clear cut removes all trees larger than two inches in diameter at breast height from a specific area. This method maximizes available sunlight for new tree growth and is effective at regenerating native hardwoods.
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Crop tree release
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Cuts that allow certain trees in a stand to be selected for continued growth. Trees touching the crown of the selected trees are removed. This reduces competition with the selected trees for sunlight, water, soil nutrients, and growing space, allowing for faster and better growth. |
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Improvement cuts
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Cuts made in stands past the sapling state for the purpose of improving composition and quality by removing trees of undesirable species, form, or condition from the main canopy. |
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Understory removal
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Cuts that create a “park-like” setting by removing the trees in the understory and leaving the overstory intact. |