Forest Management

Description

Forestry managers (and owners) are required to make management and investment decisions regularly. They have to consider such questions as:

• What volume of wood should be harvested each year?
• Which stands should be harvested to meet this volume?
• How should trees be cross-cut into logs?
• How should logs of different size and quality be allocated to different markets?
• Should land be replanted after harvesting?
• Which silvicultural regimes should be implemented?
• Should new land be bought for afforestation?
• Should additional forests be bought and at what value?

Each question has more than one possible solution, each with different consequences. Managers must identify these future consequences and the trade-offs between them. They must also consider commitments (to supply volumes of wood to processing plants) and limitations on resources (such as money, manpower and machinery), since they reduce the number of practical solutions. Only after integrating all this information can managers choose the solution that best meets the objectives of their organisation.

The objective of this course is to provide students with an understanding of (and the ability to apply) the concepts, data requirements, techniques, and systems used to support forest management decision-making. The course follows the definition that forest management is “the study and application of analytical techniques to aid in choosing those management alternatives that contribute most to organisational objectives” (Leuschner, 1984).