L1 Nature of forest management planning Dr. Han Chen Office: BB-1009F Phone: 343-8342 Email: han.chen@lakeheadu.ca Chapter 1, Davis et al. 2002 Fore 3215 FORE 3215, Lecture 1

Purpose of Forest Management To sustain ecological, economic, and social values of forests Forest Sustainability = Long term forest health Fore 3215

Four Viewpoints of Sustainable Forests

Multiple use-sustained yield management vs. ecosystem management Objective processes Sustains flow of specific products to meet human needs; minimizes adverse effects Maintains ecological and desired forest conditions, within which the sustained yield of products to meet human needs are achieved Strategy for accomplishment Resembles agricultural model Reflect patterns of natural disturbance Unit of management Stands and aggregations of stand within an ownership Landscapes and aggregations of landscapes across ownerships Time unit Multirotations with rotation length determined by landowner Multirotations with length reflecting natural disturbance although intensive management will cause some to be shorter Fore 3215

The Beast of Forest Planning Reliable and accurate inventory data remain in short supply “Experts” and their “expert opinions” prevail in quantifying input-output relationships of growth and yield, forest composition, etc. Forest plans look ahead to planning horizons of from 30 to over 300 years (150 in Ontario), but plan and then re-plan every 5 to 10 years The real function of the plan is then to help make near-term actions and decisions consistent with the known biotechnology and economics of growing forests, current formulations of near- and long-term goals, and only dimly perceived future conditions Fore 3215

The Need of Long-term Analysis and Planning Society has always worried about its forests and periodically articulates this in public policy calling for forest sustainability – CFSA (1994) in Ontario Society recognizes having future forests for economic and ecological reasons is a good idea today’s harvest and management actions are somehow connected to the flow of forest outputs in the distant future – tomorrow’s wood fibre, social ad ecological habitat, and ancient forests depend on what we do today Long-term analysis and planning is about the only way to demonstrate quantitatively how this connection is made Fore 3215

An Analytical Ethic for Forest Planners and Analysts Distinguish between policy making and analysis and clearly separate and identify the facts and values in analysis presentations Document your work and recognize the accuracy and confidence of the data and analysis method Persistently try to ensure that decision makers and affected constituencies know all significant consequences of their choices – whether they want to know or not! Pay special attention to actions and policies that are likely to permanently damage the productive capacity of soil and water resources – professional ethics Fore 3215

Definitions Regulation – how to change or convert the existing forest over time into the target or desired forest Scheduling – conveys output schedules, cash revenues, other benefits, workloads, and costs Fore 3215

Place of regulation and scheduling in forest management Broad definition: the application of a wide range of scientific, economic, and social principles to administer and solve problems in forest areas Restricted definition: the application of analytical techniques to aid in choosing management alternatives that contribute to management objectives Fore 3215