Silviculture for the 21st century—
objective and subjective standards to
help guide successful practice
Jim Guldin
and
Russ Graham
Supervisory Ecologist & Project Leader
Arkansas Forestry Sciences Lab
Southern Research Station
USDA Forest Service
Research Forester
Moscow Forestry Sciences Laboratory
Rocky Mountain Research Station
USDA Forest Service
2005 National Silviculture Workshop
Tahoe City CA, June 77-10 2005
Introduction
The turn of the
21st century
has seen
shifting
paradigms of
forest
management
2005 National Silviculture Workshop
Tahoe City CA, June 77-10 2005
Introduction
Assumptions that
existed over the
past 50 years …
CCC fights a surface fire in Arkansas, 1937 (FS photo)
2005 National Silviculture Workshop
Tahoe City CA, June 77-10 2005
Introduction
…have been
critically
examined in
light of new
conceptual
approaches to
forestry.
FS silviculturist John Strom lights a prescribed fire
Poteau RD, Ouachita NF, March 2003
2005 National Silviculture Workshop
Tahoe City CA, June 77-10 2005
Introduction
As a result,
the tactics to
implement
management
decisions
have changed
as well.
Uneven-aged Good 40 after herbicide application
Crossett EF, Ashley Co., Arkansas May 2003
2005 National Silviculture Workshop
Tahoe City CA, June 77-10 2005
Introduction
In the last
century--the
profession
engaged in
silvicultural
activities
primarily for the
purpose of
timber
production
Ouachita Mts pine stand clearcut, ripped, and planted
Near Acorn AR, 1982
2005 National Silviculture Workshop
Tahoe City CA, June 77-10 2005
Introduction
..so much so that society has come to
generally associate silviculture with
timber production
Planted stand on forest industry land
Ouachita Mountains, mid-1980s
2005 National Silviculture Workshop
Tahoe City CA, June 77-10 2005
Introduction
By that logic, the use of the term
‘silviculture’ in a habitat restoration or
stand structural context might be
viewed by some as oxymoronic.
2005 National Silviculture Workshop
Tahoe City CA, June 77-10 2005
Introduction
But we speak to
attaining
landowner
objectives through
greater attention to
what is retained in
the woods rather
than what is
removed
Clients of a regional forestry consultant like what they
see in naturally-regenerated southern pine stands.
Crossett EF, Ashley County, Arkansas. March 2004.
2005 National Silviculture Workshop
Tahoe City CA, June 77-10 2005
Introduction
Unfortunately, there
is increasingly a
tenuous foundation
of research findings
to support
innovative
silvicultural practices
2005 National Silviculture Workshop
Tahoe City CA, June 77-10 2005
Introduction
It might be
helpful if
advice
existed about
whether a
silvicultural
prescription is
likely to meet
the intended
goal.
2005 National Silviculture Workshop
Tahoe City CA, June 77-10 2005
Introduction
In this paper, we propose a set of five
quantifiable metrics and five
subjective considerations to consider
when implementing silvicultural
practices for any landowner goal,
from habitat restoration, configuration
of stand structure, and even timber
production.
2005 National Silviculture Workshop
Tahoe City CA, June 77-10 2005
Quantifiable metrics
Quantifiable metrics are variables for which
measurements can be taken.
The intensity of the sample used to quantify
the variable depends upon the ease with
which the variable can be measured, and
the degree to which measurement of the
variable gives biologically meaningful and
practical information to the silviculturist.
2005 National Silviculture Workshop
Tahoe City CA, June 77-10 2005
Quantifiable metrics
1. Preharvest stand inventory
2005 National Silviculture Workshop
Tahoe City CA, June 77-10 2005
Quantifiable metrics
Quantify the
current
conditions in
the stand
2005 National Silviculture Workshop
Tahoe City CA, June 77-10 2005
Quantifiable metrics
Preharvest inventory provides a
basis about
-how the silvicultural prescription will
change those conditions
-guide the imposition of the
proposed treatment.
2005 National Silviculture Workshop
Tahoe City CA, June 77-10 2005
The ‘why enter this stand’ question—increasingly
important in contemporary practice
2005 National Silviculture Workshop
Tahoe City CA, June 77-10 2005
2005 National Silviculture Workshop
Tahoe City CA, June 77-10 2005
Quantifiable metrics
1. Preharvest stand inventory
2. Identify surplus biomass
2005 National Silviculture Workshop
Tahoe City CA, June 77-10 2005
A prescription involves the removal of trees,
shrubs, perennials, or herbaceous plants—
in short, any biomass in excess of that
deemed suitable for retention--must
describe what is to be removed.
That description must be done in sufficient
detail such that the people responsible for
the removal can do so in a way that satisfies
the silviculturist.
2005 National Silviculture Workshop
Tahoe City CA, June 77-10 2005
The need for this to
be quantified
depends on the skill
of the silviculturist,
the degree of
experience in the
given forest type,
and the complexity
of the intended
prescription
Sierra Nevada mixed conifer stand
Tahoe NF, Tahoe City CA
2005 National Silviculture Workshop
Tahoe City CA, June 77-10 2005
New ideas to
consider:
-marking residual
trees
2005 National Silviculture Workshop
Tahoe City CA, June 77-10 2005
New ideas to
consider:
-qualitative
marking standards
imposed by field
crews (eg free
selection)
Mixed conifer stand in northern Idaho
Clearwater NF, Elk River ID
2005 National Silviculture Workshop
Tahoe City CA, June 77-10 2005
Quantifiable metrics
1.
2.
3.
Preharvest stand inventory
Identify surplus biomass
Adequacy of regeneration
2005 National Silviculture Workshop
Tahoe City CA, June 77-10 2005
Regeneration of the
desired species at
the stand level
following
reproduction cutting
is the fundamental
stand-level
indicator of
sustainability.
Coppice regeneration of shortleaf pine
Poteau RD, Ouachita NF
2005 National Silviculture Workshop
Tahoe City CA, June 77-10 2005
This implies a survey of appropriate
statistical rigor to test a null hypothesis that
regeneration density and distribution is
adequate.
Loblolly pine seedling on a picnic table
Crossett EF, Ashley County, Arkansas
2005 National Silviculture Workshop
Tahoe City CA, June 77-10 2005
Ocular estimates of regeneration may be
perfectly acceptable in some cases
2005 National Silviculture Workshop
Tahoe City CA, June 77-10 2005
We know how
to do this in
most forest
types in the US
Red oak coppice growth in a stand
affected by red oak borer
Pleasant Hill RD, Ozark NF, June 2003
2005 National Silviculture Workshop
Tahoe City CA, June 77-10 2005
Quantifiable metrics
1.
2.
3.
4.
Preharvest stand inventory
Identify surplus biomass
Adequacy of regeneration
Sensitivity analysis with computer
models
2005 National Silviculture Workshop
Tahoe City CA, June 77-10 2005
Computer models of forest growth and yield
provide a superb way for silviculturists to
test the outcomes of silvicultural
prescriptions
2005 National Silviculture Workshop
Tahoe City CA, June 77-10 2005
Not as a guarantee of prescription
effectiveness, but rather as a comparative
tool for evaluation of alternatives or
variations in implementation...
Shortleaf Pine Stand Simulator Output
Poteau RD, Ouachita NF
Annual PAI per ac, age 70-74
4 growing seasons
Age 70, SI=60, TPA 74.5, BA 84.7
BA
TMCV
SawCV
TM, tons
2.1 ft2
93.6 ft3
92.3 ft3
3.2 tons
2005 National Silviculture Workshop
BF Doyle
BF Scribner
BF Intl ¼
Saw, tons
Tahoe City CA, June 77-10 2005
490 bf
571 bf
641 bf
3.25 tons
Quantifiable metrics
1.
2.
3.
4.
Preharvest stand inventory
Identify surplus biomass
Adequacy of regeneration
Sensitivity analysis with computer
models
5. Post harvest stand inventory
2005 National Silviculture Workshop
Tahoe City CA, June 77-10 2005
Post-harvest assessment of residual stand
density, basal area, and structure
Comparing that residual stand with the
target standards originally specified in the
prescription prior to the treatment.
2005 National Silviculture Workshop
Tahoe City CA, June 77-10 2005
Again-varying need for quantified sampling
Mixed conifer
plantation
in its teens on
a clearcut site
Clearwater NF
Elk River ID
2005 National Silviculture Workshop
Tahoe City CA, June 77-10 2005
A complicating factor is that the timespan
with which reinspections of past work is
meaningful often are longer than the tenure
of a silviculturist on the land base.
Seed fall in longleaf pine
near DeRitter Louisiana, autumn 1982
2005 National Silviculture Workshop
Tahoe City CA, June 77-10 2005
Few days are better spent
by a silviculturist than
visiting past treatments
1937
1962
Good Forty, Crossett EF
Ashley County Arkansas
1982
2005 National Silviculture Workshop
Tahoe City CA, June 77-10 2005
As silviculturists across the Nation retire
over the next few years, what plans are in
place to emplace this corporate knowledge
in the future?
A minimum:
-Maintain treatment records on the long term
-One day spent reviewing past work monthly
-Six-month coincident employment of
outgoing and incoming silviculturists
2005 National Silviculture Workshop
Tahoe City CA, June 77-10 2005
Subjective Assessments
Subjective assessments that can be
used to judge whether silvicultural
operations will be successful
Commercial sale creativity--obtain
proceeds from the sale, and reinvest
in additional treatments to further the
management objectives.
2005 National Silviculture Workshop
Tahoe City CA, June 77-10 2005
Subjective Assessments
Subjective assessments that can be
used to judge whether silvicultural
operations will be successful
2005 National Silviculture Workshop
Tahoe City CA, June 77-10 2005
Subjective Assessments
1. Availability of local timber markets
2005 National Silviculture Workshop
Tahoe City CA, June 77-10 2005
The ability to sell
trees to a willing
buyer who will cut
them down, haul
them away, and
manufacture
wood products
from them is a
powerful practical
advantage
2005 National Silviculture Workshop
Tahoe City CA, June 77-10 2005
Local markets are fundamental to modern
forestry, arguably moreso today than during
the era of timber primacy
2005 National Silviculture Workshop
Tahoe City CA, June 77-10 2005
The power of this is that if one can support
treatments using a timber program
supported by strong local markets rather
than by increasingly scarce appropriated
funds, the area to be treated can
dramatically increase
2005 National Silviculture Workshop
Tahoe City CA, June 77-10 2005
Two kinds of markets will be important.
1. A fiber market for small diameter
products harvested during thinnings
2005 National Silviculture Workshop
Tahoe City CA, June 77-10 2005
Two kinds of markets will be important.
2. A high-quality sawlog market,
increasingly based on large-diameter trees
from public lands
CEF, ~1950
CEF, 2003
2005 National Silviculture Workshop
Tahoe City CA, June 77-10 2005
Two decades ago, the primacy of the timber
program alienated other staff professionals
Today, a better model looks toward resource
professionals working together to meet a
larger set of objectives, enabled by a viable
timber program in strong local markets
2005 National Silviculture Workshop
Tahoe City CA, June 77-10 2005
Subjective Assessments
1. Availability of local timber markets
2. Feasible and operable harvests
2005 National Silviculture Workshop
Tahoe City CA, June 77-10 2005
Enough biomass must be available for sale
to interest a local buyer
Annual harvest
Good Farm Forestry Forty, Crossett EF, 1956
2005 National Silviculture Workshop
Tahoe City CA, June 77-10 2005
In order of preference,
-being paid to execute the treatment is
better than
-paying someone to do the treatment. Both,
in turn, are better than
-not having the treatment done if it in fact a
priority treatment to conduct.
EG, having an environmental group buy
stumpage but not cut the trees is a
silvicultural failure, because the desired
treatment effect is not being achieved.
2005 National Silviculture Workshop
Tahoe City CA, June 77-10 2005
Subjective Assessments
1.
2.
3.
Availability of local timber markets
Feasible and operable harvests
Reinvest part of harvest proceeds
2005 National Silviculture Workshop
Tahoe City CA, June 77-10 2005
Operable harvests promote opportunities to
reinvest some of the proceeds of the sale in
paying for supplemental treatments
Commercial sale of shortleaf pine
Bayou RD, Ozark NF
2005 National Silviculture Workshop
Tahoe City CA, June 77-10 2005
Bottom line—
-What is retained is more important to future
stand conditions than what is cut.
2005 National Silviculture Workshop
Tahoe City CA, June 77-10 2005
-But what is cut can help pay for treatments
to optimize ecological condition of what is
retained
2. Commercial harvest, 3K bf/ac
1. Before treatment
2005 National Silviculture Workshop
Tahoe City CA, June 77-10 2005
-But what is cut can help pay for treatments
to optimize ecological condition of what is
retained
3. Midstory reduction
4. Prescribed fire
2005 National Silviculture Workshop
Tahoe City CA, June 77-10 2005
-But what is cut can help pay for treatments
to optimize ecological condition of what is
retained
Completed restoration…
…with myriad benefits
2005 National Silviculture Workshop
Tahoe City CA, June 77-10 2005
Subjective Assessments
1.
2.
3.
4.
Availability of local timber markets
Feasible and operable harvests
Reinvest part of harvest proceeds
Specification and evaluation of
monitoring standards
2005 National Silviculture Workshop
Tahoe City CA, June 77-10 2005
Monitoring standards are a tool used by the
silviculturist to codify the plans by which
successful implementation of the
prescription can be judged:
-implementation—treatment imposed
according to specifications
-effectiveness—did the way treatments were
imposed achieve the intended effect
-validation—should the specs be changed
2005 National Silviculture Workshop
Tahoe City CA, June 77-10 2005
An internal process check or review of the
implementation of the silvicultural
prescription
2005 National Silviculture Workshop
Tahoe City CA, June 77-10 2005
Subjective Assessments
1.
2.
3.
4.
Availability of local timber markets
Feasible and operable harvests
Reinvest part of harvest proceeds
Specification and evaluation of
monitoring standards
5. External professional review
2005 National Silviculture Workshop
Tahoe City CA, June 77-10 2005
The value of this is impartiality or a third
party review that evaluates independently
whether the goals and objectives of a
particular silvicultural practice have been
achieved.
FS R&D Management plan review
Poison Springs State Forest
Camden AR
2005 National Silviculture Workshop
Tahoe City CA, June 77-10 2005
Internal management review of the National
Forest System—SO, RO, WO levels offer
constructively critical review process
Congressional staff tour
Oak ecosystem restoration
Bayou RD, Ozark NF
June 1 2005
2005 National Silviculture Workshop
Tahoe City CA, June 77-10 2005
External third-party audits; e.g., SFI, FSC, or
state BMP compliance audits
Field tour on Pioneer
Forest,
FSC-certified
privately-owned
150K-ac forest,
Salem MO
2005 National Silviculture Workshop
Tahoe City CA, June 77-10 2005
Advantage especially of external reviews
-impartiality, independence
-the accreditation effect: bring pressure to
internally fund improvements
FS R&D management
plan review
Poison Springs State Forest
Camden, AR
2005 National Silviculture Workshop
Tahoe City CA, June 77-10 2005
SUMMARY
Quantitative metrics
Subjective assessments
1.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Preharvest stand
inventory
Identify surplus
biomass
Adequacy of
regeneration
Sensitivity
analysis with
computer models
Post harvest stand
inventory
2005 National Silviculture Workshop
2.
3.
4.
5.
Local timber
markets?
Operable harvests?
Plans to reinvest
harvest proceeds
Follow monitoring
standards
External review
Tahoe City CA, June 77-10 2005
DISCUSSION
These ideas serve as a beta-testable
model for a practical program of
adaptive silviculture that meets
contemporary needs in a sustainable
manner
2005 National Silviculture Workshop
Tahoe City CA, June 77-10 2005