In forestry, we think of forests at 2 distinct levels: the stand level and the forest level.
Stand Management
In stand management we are working with a community of trees that are sufficiently uniform in composition, age, spatial arrangement, or other condition to distinguish it from adjacent communities.
There are 2 broad groups of stands:
- Even-Aged: a group of trees having no or a small difference in ages; by convention, with a spread of ages not exceeding 20% of the rotation* length.
- Uneven-Aged: a group of trees that differ significantly in ages; by convention, with a spread of ages exceeding 25% of the planned life span for an age class.
* Rotation: the planned number of years between stand formation and cutting.
Note: Even-aged stands never have regeneration, tending, and harvest occurring simultaneously. Uneven-aged stands alwaysdo.
Reproduction Methods
Many methods of reproduction have been developed. The details of applying the same method vary widely because they are altered for each species, forest region, and management objective. The following are broad categories of reproduction methods, in order of a decreasing percentage of the canopy removed during the cut:
Even-Aged Stands:
high percentage of canopy removed:
Clearcutting - removal of entire stand in one cutting
Seed tree method - removal of mature timber in one cutting, except for a small number of seed trees left singly or in small groups in order to provide a seed source
Shelterwood method - removal of mature timber in a series of cuttings which extend over a relatively short portion of the rotation, that is, even-aged reproduction under the partial shelter of seed trees.
Uneven-Aged Stands:
low percentage of canopy removed:
Selection method - removal of mature timber, usually the oldest or largest trees, either as single scattered individuals or in small groups at relatively short intervals, so that an uneven-aged stand is maintained.
To see the advantages and disadvantages associated with using these reproduction methods, visit our Even- vs. Uneven-Aged Reproduction Methods page.
Forest Management
In forest management we are working with the collection of stands that make up the forest ownership. Through forest management, we are integrating plans for stands into a well-organized program for the entire ownership. See the below diagram of the Silvicultural System for more information.
Component | Treatments |
Regeneration |
Natural Artificial (seeding or planting) |
Tending |
Release cuttings Pruning Thinning Intermediate cuts |
Harvest (regeneration method) |
Clearcutting Shelterwood Seed tree Selection system |