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Select, as in selecting the trees to be cut and selecting the trees to be kept. The method
of forestry we use to get wood is called selection harvesting. It
cuts only single trees down, here and there, throughout the forest,
instead of cutting the whole forest down, like in clear cutting.
With selection you can’t tell anything has been cut. But advantage
or There is a
stopping point, though, in this method; doing what Nature does,
and that is when Nature takes out strong trees through violent,
abrupt natural disturbance. We defer the healthy tall tree choices
to Nature, because taking them will punch holes in the canopy of
the forest. Lightening is an example of a disturbance that takes
strong trees out. In the spring of 1996 our small forest had lightening damage. The trees that were struck were the biggest trees in the forest canopy. Had they died, which they still have not, their absence would leave huge holes in the ceiling of the forest, where their canopies now are. This lightning occurrence illustrates the difference between the coined Natural Selection Ecoforestry approach from other selection forestry approaches. As natural selection foresters, we would never have chosen these trees ourselves that the lightning hit, because we want these excelling trees to reach their potential growth, and want them around for their offspring from their seed. Meanwhile, other well-meaning foresters would select out tall trees, in their prime, under the reasoning that opening the canopy up gets light down to the forest floor so new trees will get started, and the resulting forest will be an uneven age stand. We defer the role of violent disturbance entirely to Nature. And Nature, guaranteed, will take out prime trees and make holes, here and there, opening up the forest floor to light and the establishment of new trees. Note, the effect, directly down below the hole, doesn’t always produce new forest. It can result in remaining sterile for a long time. The elements of weather extremes go down into these entry points and create chaos for a time, or the exposure may even widen underneath the canopy and make the hole larger and larger, like a run in a nylon stocking. It will be favorable for one thing and bad for something else, but struggle will result until one direction or the other wins. So you can imagine the impact we could create, if we had already come along before the lightening and made our own holes in the canopy. Then there would be 2 times the opened canopy. Which translates into, less potential growth, less prime genetic seed available for future trees, and more intrusion points for “the elements” to get down into the forest below. This lightening proves the point that we humans do not have to create the new forest, i.e. a mix of ages in the forest. Different ages of trees will be created by Nature disturbing the canopy, with or without us. We just do not know where or when holes are going to happen. We want to keep out of the way and not add to the negative aspects of disturbance, to the point the positive aspect of them can’t win out. |
harm
to the forest lurks in selection harvesting through the choice of
which trees are picked for cutting and leaving. The trees we decide
to take and the way to use selection to enhance a forest, is to
follow the natural pattern of how a forest, when left to itself,
will weed out it’s weak, sick, very young or too old trees,
century after century, via long-acting disturbances such as insects
and disease. It is called Natural Selection. For details mouse on:
