Book Description

Silviculture, as an integrative discipline, must combine management skills with scientific and technical knowledge in the management of forests and woodlands. While traditionally, silviculturists worked in fine resolution landscapes, today's practitioner must look at encompassing both larger geographic areas (adjacent stands, watersheds, regions, subregions) and wider objectives (trees as well as wildlife, commodities, recreation, sustainability, biological diversity, air quality, and ecosystem resilience). The 12 papers in this proceedings explore the past, present, and desired future of silviculture's role and practice. Examination of disturbance ecology in ecosystem management includes natural and induced disturbances, and management options. Discussion of desired future conditions includes the importance of understanding the connection between ecological values and social values, as well as historic reference conditions as they relate to creating forest plans. A section on inventory, monitoring, and adaptive management looks at multiresource and multiscale data assessments and temporal continuity; included are design alternatives and a discussion of how to adapt silvicultural prescriptions. Case studies throughout the proceedings help the reader understand the practical applications, the successes, and the need for further work.