SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY

 sustainable forestry

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"Sustainable" means to maintain, continue, and keep, while "forestry" is the science and art of managing forests. Thus, sustainable forestry is about caring for and managing forests to provide the natural resources, such as wood and clean water, we need now and in the future. It also means sustaining other things we value from the forest like wildlife habitat and beautiful landscapes. Sustainable forestry is concerned with all parts of the forest-trees, smaller plants, soils, wildlife, and water. It involves protecting forests from wildfire, pests, and diseases, and preserving forests that are unique or special.

Protecting the quality of water in the forest is critical to all aquatic and terrestrial life.

Sustainable forestry also puts an emphasis on people. People need forests for the resources they provide, and as a place to live or to make a living. Sustainable forestry ensures that future generations will have forests to meet their needs and values. As you can see, sustainable forestry is complex and can involve many things. Let's look at a few of these things more closely. You will also see how sustainable forestry can mean different things to different people.

Sustainability may be defined in terms of sustaining biophysical properties of the forest, in terms of sustaining a flow of goods and services from the forest, or a combination of the two. A combined definition follows: sustainable forests are able to provide goods and services to the present without impairing their capacity to be equally or more useful to future generations . The goods and services demanded of the forest include wood of specified quality; habitat for wildlife , fish, and invertebrates; recreational, aesthetic, and spiritual opportunities; sufficient water of appropriate quality; protection (e.g., against floods and erosion ) preservation of natural ecosystems and their processes (i.e. allowing large forested landscapes to be affected only by natural dynamics) and the preservation of species .

To provide in perpetuity for future demands, the productivity, diversity, and function of the forest must be maintained and enhanced. A listing of key biophysical properties follows, along with examples of current threats to their maintenance: 1) Soil productivity (reduced by erosion and nutrient depletion            from over harvesting).
 2) Biomass (degraded in quantity and quality by over harvesting            and destructive logging practices). 
3) Climatic stability (possibly threatened                                              by emission of greenhouse gases ).
 4) Atmospheric quality (lowered by ozone and sulfur dioxide).
 5) Ground and surface waters (altered by deforestation or drainage ).
 6) Diversity of plants, animals, and ecosystems (reduced by deforestation, fragmentation, and replacement of complex natural forests with even-aged forests harvested at young ages).

Forest sustainability also depends on the maintenance and improvement of socioeconomic factors. These include human talent and knowledge; infrastructure (e.g., roads); and political, social, and economic institutions (e.g., marketing systems, stable political systems, international cooperation, and peace). Also essential are technological developments that permit wiser use of the forest and substitute ways to meet human needs. Perhaps the major threat to forest sustainability arises from an ever-increasing population, especially in developing countries, combined with the ever-increasing material demands of the developed nations.

Forests have been managed as a renewable and sustainable resource by stable indigenous tribes for many generations. In recent years, some governments have made efforts in this direction as well. Managing any forest for sustainability is a complex process. The spatial scale of sustainability is often global or regional, crossing land ownerships and political boundaries. The time horizons for sustainability by far exceeds those used for "long-term" planning by business or government.

Some people have even questioned the feasibility of sustainable forestry. Optimists believe technological innovation and changed value systems will enable us to achieve sustainability. Others feel demand will outstrip supply, leading to spiralling forest degradation, and have called for conservative and careful management of existing forests.

Forest Management

To care for and manage a forest in a sustainable way it is necessary to use responsible management practices. These are often specifically adapted to each site. One of the most important practices is to look at whether the forest has enough natural seeds, seedlings, and tree sprouts (all called regeneration) to make a future forest. Excessive populations of white-tailed deer in a forest greatly reduce regeneration by eating young trees. Too many ferns or too little sunlight can also play a role. Many sustainable forestry practices can protect or encourage forest regeneration. They include putting up a fence to exclude deer, controlling weeds and other plants, and removing some trees to allow more sunlight to reach down into the forest.

When it comes to removing trees, or timber, from the forest, many practices can assure the forest's future. It is a good practice to think as much about which trees to leave as about which trees to cut. The trees left in the forest will continue to grow, occupying and regenerating the forest for many years to come. If they are chosen properly, the remaining trees can provide many of the same values and resources, and, perhaps, new ones in the future.

Other sustainable forestry practices include protecting forest streams and wet areas. Harvesting trees can disturb and expose soil in small areas. This is especially true on roads built for driving the machinery used to remove trees. The flow of rain or other water across, and under, roads must be carefully managed with culverts (large pipes) and proper road design. This helps prevent soil from washing into a stream or wet area. Too much soil in water, or sediment, is harmful to aquatic life. Trees and other vegetation left undisturbed adjacent to streams or wet areas can also prevent soil from entering streams. These areas are called buffer strips.