1. L1 Nature of forest management planning
Dr. Han Chen Office: BB-1009F Phone:
Chapter 1, Davis et al. 2002
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FORE 3215, Lecture 1

2. Purpose of Forest Management
To sustain ecological, economic, and social values of forests
Forest Sustainability = Long term forest health
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3. Four Viewpoints of Sustainable Forests

4. 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
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5. 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
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6. 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
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7. 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
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8. 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
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9. 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
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