Alternative silvicultural systems for conifers

 

There is increasing interest in the potential use of alternative silvicultural systems to patch clear felling in conifer forests in Britain, particularly in those locations where non-market benefits (e.g. landscape, conservation) may be adversely affected by felling. This interest is generally classed under the terms 'Alternatives to Clearfelling' (ATC) or 'Continuous Cover Forestry' (CCF). CCF is best considered as an approach to forest management based upon a number of guiding principles. These include management of the forest ecosystem rather than the trees, working with natural processes such as natural regeneration, respecting site limitations, creation of diverse stands with a range of species, and a presumption against clearfelling. This approach is favoured by a number of policy statements including the Welsh and Scottish forestry strategies.

However, there is a lack of knowledge of the silvicultural systems appropriate to CCF in British forestry, including how best to manipulate regular stands to promote natural regeneration and develop stable irregular stand structures. The research undertaken in this programme aims to elucidate the factors that will determine the potential for CCF on different sites in Britain and to transfer such knowledge to forest managers and other interested parties. Aspects studied include the development of natural regeneration in relation to site, stand structure and microclimate, the development of growth and yield models for irregular stands, and the role of mixed species silviculture in British conifer forests. A particular emphasis has been given to understanding the links between stand structure, light regime within the stand in relation to regeneration success, and stand stability against wind damage. The latter is particularly important given the serious risk of wind damage to conifer forests in many parts of upland Britain.

Planned outputs are two Information notes ‘Establishment and interim results from the Forest Enterprise ATC demonstration sites in Britain’ and ‘Potential and management of mixed conifer/broadleaved stands in northern Britain.’ Peer reviewed papers will continue to ensure a sound scientific basis for advice.  The researchers involved in this programme also support training courses and advise on pilot areas for ATC in public forests.

One other area covered by this programme is the management of long-term replicated forest experiments whose data can be used to validate predictions from models and short-term studies carried out in other areas of forest science. These experiments include cultivation, fertiliser, species and mixture trials. The outcome of this work will be identification and cataloguing of key long-term experiments.

Commissioned reports

No reports available at this time