Articles containing the keyword 'intensive silviculture'

The process of capital accumulation in timber production has been examined in this study. A detailed explanation of new investment in forest industry in terms of productive capacity as the determinant of national forest policy target growing stock and silviculture is presented. The basis of the explanation of forest industry productive capacity was a linear vertically integrated input-output production model. The model was used to derive a macroeconomic equilibrium condition specifying forest sector aggregate demand as an integral part of the national economy. Timber production has been constructed as a state variable system and the Maximum Principle used to derive silvicultural investment criterion. The derivation of the investment criterion was formulated as a dynamic problem in a labour surplus economy with linkage between savings and choice of silvicultural technology defined via income distribution between wages and profit. Maximization of aggregate consumption was specified as the goal of timber production.

By assuming a state of sub-optimal savings rate, it is shown that the real cost of labour is not zero in a labour surplus economy. Because unemployment labour is not a free commodity, it is concluded that capital-intensive silvicultural technology represents an optimal means of maximizing aggregate consumption in labour surplus economy, contrary to the recommendation of social marginal productivity theory.

The PDF includes a summary in Finnish.

• Omwami, E-mail: ro@mm.unknown

The effects of modern forestry on northwest European forest invertebrates are summarized and analysed mainly on the basis of published literature. The direct influence of different practices including clear-cutting, thinning, burning-over, ploughing, changes in tree species composition of stands, fertilization, insecticides, pheromones and biological control are discussed from a forest zoological point of view. Also, the indirect effects of general changes in boreal forest dynamics, loss of primeval forests, cessation of natural fires and the dominance of young stands are described. The direct effects of different silvicultural practices on the species composition and diversity of forest invertebrates are usually considered to be striking but transient. However, when large areas are treated, the species associated with primeval forests, especially with the wood composition system in them, as well as the species associated with fires, seem to have drastically declined. In northwest Europe, efficient forestry has not caused such serious pest problems as is known from tropical countries or North America.

The PDF includes a summary in Finnish.

• Heliövaara, E-mail: kh@mm.unknown
• Väisänen, E-mail: rv@mm.unknown

Use of fast-growing tree plantations on dedicated areas is proposed as a means of reconciling fibre production with conservation objectives. Success of this approach however requires fine-tuning silvicultural scenarios so that survival and growth are optimized while management and environmental costs are minimized. This is particularly challenging for hybrid larch (Larix × marschlinsii Coaz), a shade-intolerant species planted on fertile sites in Quebec (Canada) where legislation prevents the use of chemical herbicides. In this context, multiple motor-manual release treatments are often required, with high impacts on costs and social issues related to the scarcity of a qualified workforce. We established a split-split-plot design on a recently harvested site to assess the main and interaction effects of mechanical site preparation (MSP) intensity (five modalities of trenching or mounding), motor-manual release scenario (one or two treatments) and planting depth (0–3 cm or 3–10 cm) on hybrid larch seedling growth and survival six years after planting. Mechanical site preparation intensity and planting depth did not influence seedling growth after 6 years. The lack of significant interaction between MSP and release scenarios indicates that these operations should be planned independently. A more intensive MSP treatment cannot replace a second motor-manual release on fertile sites, as proposed to reduce costs. Our results also show the significant advantage of performing two motor-manual release treatments two years apart (the first one early in the scenario), over performing a single treatment. Our study provides silvicultural guidelines for the establishment of high-yield exotic larch plantations.

• Thiffault, Direction de la recherche forestière, Ministère des Forêts, de la Faune et des Parcs du Québec, 2700 rue Einstein, Québec, QC, Canada G1P 3W8; Centre d’étude de la forêt, CP 8888, Succursale Centre-ville, Montréal, QC, Canada H3C 3P8 http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2017-6890 E-mail: nelson.thiffault@mffp.gouv.qc.ca
• Paquette, Centre d’étude de la forêt, CP 8888, Succursale Centre-ville, Montréal, QC, Canada H3C 3P8; Université du Québec à Montréal, Département des sciences biologiques, CP 8888, Succursale Centre-ville, Montréal, QC, Canada H3C 3P8 http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1048-9674 E-mail: alain.paquette@gmail.com
• Messier, Centre d’étude de la forêt, CP 8888, Succursale Centre-ville, Montréal, QC, Canada H3C 3P8; Université du Québec à Montréal, Département des sciences biologiques, CP 8888, Succursale Centre-ville, Montréal, QC, Canada H3C 3P8; Institut des Sciences de la Forêt tempérée (ISFORT), 58 rue Principale, Ripon, QC, Canada JOV 1V0 E-mail nelson.thiff E-mail: christian.messier@uqo.ca