Sustainable forest management

 

Improving silvicultural and operational solutions for achieving sustainable management

Summary

The concept of sustainable forest management implies the stewardship and use of forests to provide a range of benefits over time. International agreements and national policies require foresters to demonstrate that their forestry practices meet independent criteria of sustainability. In Britain, as elsewhere, the increasing emphasis upon sustainability has led to the promotion of ‘multiple-use’ management which generally means developing varied forests containing stands of different species, ages and structures.

Such developments represent a major challenge to foresters because many existing forests comprise regular stands of a small number of species which are designed to maximise wood production. The need to rethink existing forestry practices to meet changing objectives lies at the heart of research into sustainable forest management.

With this in mind, we in Forest Research are exploring new approaches to woodland establishment and tending to support policies aiming to increase the species and structural variability of forests. Areas under investigation include:

• Greater use of natural regeneration
• The role of continuous cover forestry
• The potential for restoring and enhancing native woodlands.

However, we are also remembering the need for woodland management to maintain a positive cash flow and our research also seeks to reduce management costs, and add value to British timber and non-timber products. This includes technical support for wood energy and biomass initiatives.

Research programmes

• Continuous cover silviculture
• Eco-engineering and conservation of slopes (ECOSLOPES)
• Environmental protection during forest operations
• Establishment and maintenance operations
• European network for vegetation management 
• Harvesting and utilisation operations
• Health and safety for forestry operations
• Integrated establishment systems for the uplands
• Integrated forest vegetation management 
• Management of upland native woodlands
• Seed and seedling biology
• Silviculture and timber properties
• Small scale operations
• STORMRISK
• Sustainability impact assessment of the forestry-wood chain (EFORWOOD) 
• Tree stability and climate
• Woodfuel

Forthcoming events

• Forest wind damage modelling workshop
• Woodfuel Supply Chain - Sharing experience

Related publications

Publications about sustainable forest managements and forestry methods and machinery

Related products and services

• Alice Holt Research Forest - Conduct studies with access to 50 years’ scientific data
• ForestGALES  - Decision support tool to estimate probability of wind damage to conifer stands
• Herbicide Advisor - Expert system to advise on relative efficacy of different herbicides
• Pesticide Safety Directorate efficacy testing - Quality assured field trials of new and existing pesticides under strictly controlled environmental conditions
• Plant quality testing service - Obtain information on quality of stock before planting
• Software to support transformation to Continuous Cover Forestry
• Technical development services - Evaluation and development of forestry methods and machinery
• Technical services - Surveying, experiment and nursery services

Background

At the start of the last century the forest area of Britain was less than five per cent of the land area as a result of centuries of conversion to agriculture, overgrazing, unsustainable exploitation and other factors. Since 1919 there has been a sustained expansion of forest cover in many areas of the country. As a result, at the beginning of the twenty-first century, forests cover nearly 12 per cent of Britain, with the figure in parts of Scotland nearing 25 per cent. In other words, areas of the country have moved from being ‘forest poor’ to becoming ‘forest rich’.

The achievements represented by this expansion of forest cover have been internationally recognised as are the opportunities for diversifying the forests to meet the multiple criteria of Sustainable Forest Management. For example, all Forestry Commission forests and many areas of private woodland are certified as being sustainably managed under the Forest Stewardship Council accredited UK Woodland Assurance Standard (UKWAS). Current initiatives to restore and expand native woodland cover are also seen as exemplars that can usefully contribute to global forest restoration initiatives. Such strategies contribute to the maintenance of rare woodland habitats and their associated biodiversity.

The new forests that have been created provide the opportunity for developing modern wood processing industries that are internationally competitive yet help support a diversified and vibrant rural economy. For example, some forty thousand full time equivalent jobs are provided in forestry and the primary processing sector. Nevertheless, with timber prices at a very low level, Britain’s traditional forestry sector faces serious economic challenges, particularly in trying to market the increased timber supplies now becoming available from the forests established in the last century. Innovative thinking is needed to ensure that Britain develops a strong forestry-wood chain capable of reducing UK dependence on imported timber and providing adequate returns to the grower.

Sustainable forest management is essential to ensure that British forests continue to provide the flow of environmental, social, and recreational benefits, recently estimated at £1000 million per year.

Research objectives

The overriding aim of our research is to make forest management more predictable, profitable, and sustainable by providing the knowledge and tools to select and manipulate site, species and silviculture to achieve desired outcomes. We give equal consideration to the quality of outcome as well as to the quantity of outputs produced.

This aim encompasses a wide range of research activities which include:

• Developing cost-effective methods of establishing trees which ensure that potential for quality timber outputs is maintained
• Implementing computer based decision support tools which synthesise available knowledge on best silvicultural practice
• Providing guidance on suitable thinning and stand tending measures which maintain quality without increasing the risk of wind damage or the loss of non-market benefits
• Providing advice on safe working and harvesting practices in forests
• Evaluating the potential of Continuous Cover Forestry in different forest types and researching the limiting factors to success
• Carrying out studies on appropriate silviculture for use in the restoration and expansion of upland native woodlands (specifically pinewoods, upland oakwoods, and birchwoods)
• Carry out research and other development to support the expansion of the use of wood fuel in support of renewable energy intiatives
• Investigate the silviculture of mixed species stands
• Carry out fundamental studies into seed, seedling and tree physiology in support of applied silvicultural research
• To provide advice to foresters, woodland owners, policy makers, and other interested parties on the best practices required to implement sustainable forest management.

Forestry Commission policy

British forest policy on Sustainable Forest Management has evolved over the last decade in response to the commitments undertaken at the 1992 UNCED conference in Rio (the Earth Summit) and subsequently developed through the processes of the Ministerial Conferences on Protection of Forests in Europe (MCPFE).

For example, in 1998 a set of Pan-European Criteria for Sustainable Forest Management were adopted which apply to all forest types in Europe. These criteria are:

• Maintenance and appropriate enhancement of forest resources and their contribution to global carbon cycles
• Maintenance of forest ecosystem health and vitality
• Maintenance and encouragement of the productive functions of forests (wood and non-wood)
• Maintenance, conservation and appropriate enhancement of biological diversity in forest ecosystems
• Maintenance and appropriate enhancement of protective functions in forest management (notably soil and water)
• Maintenance of other socio-economic functions and conditions.

At the UK level, the criteria and standards for Sustainable Forest Management are codified in the UK Forestry Standard. This document (first published in 1998 and in revised form in 2004) supported the subsequent establishment of an independent certification standard (UKWAS) and has led to the environmental labelling of home grown forest products. These commitments area also reflected in the forestry strategies published for England, Scotland, and Wales, each of which contain their own support for Sustainable Forest Management.

Achievements

Achievements in this area include:

• The publication of advice on minimising chemical inputs to forests (see below) 
• Advice on restoration of native woodlands
• An upcoming publication on the management of Scotland’s native pinewoods
• A suite of information notes on various aspects of Continuous Cover Forestry (see below)
• A series of practical workshops on management of small woodlands and on systems for producing wood fuel.

Contact

Research into 'sustainable forest management' within Forest Research is centred in the Forest Management Division.

For further information contact:

Bill Mason
Forest Research
Northern Research Station
Roslin
Midlothian EH25 9SY

Tel: 0131 445 2176
Fax: 0131 445 5124
Email: bill.mason@forestry.gsi.gov.uk