55 resources found

This core purpose of this document is to present ideas and case studies demonstrating how to integrate ecological restoration into routine forest management practices to enhance biodiversity, reduce risks, and achieve sustainable certification. This document outlines key ecological issues, such as landscape fragmentation and the loss of natural stand structural elements, and details corresponding restoration approaches across eleven distinct case studies, from restoring open forest and open range through commercial thinning to mitigating road impacts and restoring riparian habitat integrity. Finally, the document prioritizes specific forested ecosystems with high priority restoration needs in BC, offering tailored solutions for zones like the Interior Douglas-fir and Coastal Western Hemlock.

This document presents tools designed to assist silvicultural practitioners in making informed decisions about managing competing vegetation and forest health. This document provides crucial information on biological features and site-limiting factors for new and less experienced professionals, without making the decisions for them. The document presents three vegetation complexes in the Cariboo Forest Region including Dry Shrub, Fireweed, and Mixed Hardwood-Shrub, each detailing common species, treatment necessity based on site series, silvicultural considerations, and autecological characteristics, ultimately aiding in effective forest management strategies. The docuement also highlight other valuess such as the importance for First Nations, wildlife, and ecosystem protection.

This document introduces crucial tools for silvicultural practitioners in the Cariboo Forest Region. This document synthesizes research and local knowledge to provide guidance on managing factors like competing vegetation and forest health, rather than dictating decisions. Specifically, the document details stand establishment for various issues affecting lodgepole pine, including Comandra and Stalactiform Blister Rust, Lodgepole Pine Dwarf Mistletoe, Lodgepole Pine Terminal Weevil, Pine Needlecast, and Western Gall Rust. For each issue, hazard ratings are offered based on biogeoclimatic zones and subzones and outline silvicultural considerations for establishment, regeneration, and plantation maintenance, empowering practitioners to make informed management strategies.

This document is a detailed report summarizing a commercial thinning experiment in the Horsefly Forest District in British Columbia. The primary goal was to assess the operational feasibility of commercial thinning as an alternative silviculture treatment, particularly focusing on developing higher-valued timber stands. The report delves into numerous technical and environmental issues, including desired crop tree characteristics, hydrological stability, and windthrow and snow-damage, backed by exhaustive production reports from the harvesting machinery and detailed snow breakage and crown growth surveys. The study concluded that commercial thinning is an operationally viable option within the Cariboo Forest Region, providing continued access to merchantable stands.

This document investigates harvesting small patch clearcuts in southeastern British Columbia. Faced with the challenge of balancing timber extraction with high recreational values and visually sensitive landscapes, this study aims to evaluate different harvesting systems. The study was conducted at Robson Ridge and Pilot Point and compared the productivity, costs, and site disturbance of ground-skidding and cable-yarding methods, highlighting key factors like terrain, machine type, and operational planning that influence the success of these silvicultural approaches in visually sensitive areas. The findings emphasize that meticulous planning, especially concerning road layouts and patch boundaries, is crucial for achieving both economic and environmental objectives in small patch clearcutting.

This document reports on a government initiative, the Silvicultural Systems Program, established in response to public criticism of widespread clearcutting in British Columbia's forests starting in 1990. The paper describes the program's goal of exploring and demonstrating diverse forest harvesting practices through numerous large-scale, long-term experiments across the province. It outlines the program's history, funding, and key accomplishments, including the operational feasibility and varied environmental impacts of alternatives to clearcutting, and concludes by offering lessons learned for future large-scale forestry research endeavors and reflecting on the challenges of translating research into widespread changes in forestry practices.

This document details the Revelstoke Community Forest Corporation's implementation of a single-tree selection silvicultural system in a second-growth forest area. The primary objectives of this alternative harvesting method were to maintain ungulate winter range, cultivate caribou habitat, minimize visual impacts from a nearby highway, and enhance future wood quality, particularly by reducing western white pine mortality. The document outlines the site's characteristics, the planning and prescription process for harvesting, and the challenges and successes of the logging operation, including cost analyses. This document concludes that while initial costs were higher, this approach offers a feasible way to access timber in sensitive areas that would otherwise be off-limits to traditional clearcutting, with an expectation of reduced costs as experience grows.

This extension note examines how partial cutting prescriptions in British Columbia's Kootenay region successfully balance timber harvesting with heightened public demand for visual quality and biodiversity conservation. It details two specific case studies, Hope Creek and Loki Creek, demonstrating how complex land-use plans and legislation like the KootenayBoundary Land Use Plan Implementation Strategy and the Higher Level Plan Order translate into on-the-ground forestry practices. The document highlights the necessity for flexibility and ingenuity from foresters and loggers to achieve multiple, sometimes conflicting, objectives, such as maintaining caribou and grizzly bear habitat while ensuring the harvested areas remain visually appealing. This document showcases the feasibility of meeting diverse resource objectives at the stand level through carefully designed harvesting techniques in constrained areas.

This document serves as a stand establishment decision aid for forest managers in British Columbia dealing with tomentosus root rot, a fungal disease prevalent in spruce and pine forests. It outlines the characteristics and spread of the disease, emphasizing its impact on forest health and productivity through mortality, growth reduction, and windthrow. The guide details how to identify susceptible stands based on species composition and site conditions, discusses methods for assessing disease presence after harvesting, and presents silvicultural considerations like inoculum reduction and the planting of less susceptible tree species to mitigate future issues. The purpose of this document is to inform forest management practices in areas where tomentosus poses a significant risk to ensure healthy and productive future forests.

This paper addresses the increasing need for forestry practices to adapt to predicted climate changes. The authors explore assisted migration, defined as the purposeful movement of species to mimic natural range expansion, as a key strategy within forest management to ensure the resilience and productivity of future forests. Recognizing that many tree species cannot naturally migrate quickly enough to keep pace with climate shifts, the paper argues that proactive interventions like assisted migration are essential. The authors discuss different forms of assisted migration, weigh the associated risks and benefits, particularly within the context of British Columbia's forestry, and outline crucial policy and research needs to effectively implement this adaptation approach.

This extension note serves as a practical guide for silvicultural practitioners. It addresses critical operational concerns identified by the forestry community, specifically focusing on competing vegetation and forest health. The core of the document presents Stand Establishment Decision Aids for nine distinct forest health issues prevalent in the Southern Interior Forest Region of British Columbia, such as the black army cutworm, various root diseases, and blister rusts. Each SEDA provides essential information on identifying susceptible stands, understanding the biology of the damaging agent, and outlining relevant harvest and silviculture considerations, including regeneration and plantation maintenance strategies, ultimately aiming to support informed decision-making for healthy forest establishment.

This paper explores strategies to mitigate timber supply shortages in British Columbia (BC), a problem exacerbated by climate change and past natural disturbances like the mountain pine beetle outbreak. The authors investigate two primary forest management approaches: commercial thinning and diverse plantings, including assisted species migration. By simulating the long-term effects of these interventions in a case study area, the study concludes that combining commercial thinning with species diversification offers the most promising solution to sustain future timber supply in BC, emphasizing the importance of adaptive forest management in the face of environmental challenges.

This document is a detailed inventory of numerous forestry research projects across British Columbia. It systematically catalogues various long-term studies examining different silvicultural systems, which are methods for managing forest growth and harvesting timber. The document is structured geographically, listing trials in the Southern Interior, Northern Interior, and Coast regions, as well as smaller, province-wide trials, university research forests, demonstration areas, and operational case studies. For each listed project, the document typically provides information such as the establishment year, location, ecological zone, tested silvicultural systems (like clearcutting, shelterwood, and group selection), trial objectives (e.g., impacts on regeneration, wildlife, or disease), and often a list of associated publications and contact information, highlighting the extensive research network in the province.

This paper examines the costs and productivity of different timber harvesting methods in the interior wet-belt of British Columbia, specifically focusing on maintaining habitat for mountain caribou. The study compares group selection harvesting, where small patches of forest are removed, with clearcutting and single-tree selection. Its primary purpose is to document the economic implications of a harvesting approach designed to balance timber extraction with the ecological needs of caribou in old-growth cedar-hemlock forests.

This extension note details a case study on partial cutting timber harvesting methods within a sensitive watershed in southeastern British Columbia. The study evaluates a multi-resource objective approach to logging, aiming to balance timber production with the conservation of water quality, wildlife habitats, and visual landscapes. It highlights the company's shift from conventional clear-cutting to silvicultural systems that maintain forest health and biodiversity, while also addressing the economic and environmental concerns of the region. The report assesses the effectiveness and challenges of these partial cutting methods in achieving sustainable forest management within a sensitive ecological area.

This extension note explores alternatives to conventional clearcutting for timber harvesting in visually sensitive areas of British Columbia, specifically within the Columbia Forest District. The central purpose is to identify silvicultural systems and harvesting methods that reduce visual impact while maintaining timber supply and ecological health. The document details various standard units of harvesting, such as shelterwood and commercial thinning, explaining their application and effects on the landscape, often contrasting them with traditional clearcutting. This document emphasizes the importance of balancing economic viability with aesthetic and environmental considerations when managing forest viewscapes.

This document details Selkirk College's experimental shift from traditional clearcutting to variable retention silvicultural systems in their hemlock-dominated demonstration forest. The primary purpose of these experiments was to explore alternative harvesting methods that could maintain water quality, enhance biodiversity and habitat structures, produce quality timber, and provide educational opportunities for students. The document highlights Selkirk College's experiences with various approaches including natural shelterwood with overstory retention, group selection, and a mix of group and dispersed retention to assess their effectiveness in minimizing environmental impacts such as windthrow, and achieving diverse management objectives. A key theme emphasized is the critical role of clear communication between the woodlot manager and harvesting crews for successful implementation of these complex variable retention strategies.

This document details a case study on commercial thinning of older forests in British Columbia's Interior Hemlock Subzone, a forestry practice aiming to improve the growth and quality of remaining trees. The study, conducted by the Revelstoke Community Forest Corporation, investigates the operational feasibility and economic viability of this approach on an 85-year-old stand. Key findings highlight that commercial thinning can yield a significant volume of timber, increase the value of future crop trees, and potentially enhance wildlife habitat, though careful planning is needed to manage associated costs and operational challenges. The report concludes by summarizing recommendations for future commercial thinning operations, emphasizing the importance of clearly defined crop tree selection criteria and methods to reduce costs.

This document details a case study on patch cutting in old-growth forests within British Columbia, specifically addressing its impact on wildlife habitat and its use as an alternative to clearcut logging. The study examines a group selection silviculture system aimed at balancing timber extraction with the preservation of wildlife corridors and habitat, particularly for species like caribou and mule deer. Key objectives included creating uneven-aged stands, reducing snow interception, minimizing logging impacts, and maintaining a percentage of the block area as old-growth. The findings suggest that while patch cutting is operationally feasible and offers benefits over conventional clearcutting, it still requires careful planning and management to effectively meet both economic and environmental goals.

This extension note details a case study on patch cutting in old-growth forests in British Columbia. The primary purpose of this research was to investigate alternative silviculture systems, specifically patch cutting, as a method to maintain caribou habitat. The study aimed to assess the impact of this harvesting technique on the abundance and dispersal of arboreal lichen, a critical food source for caribou, while also considering its effects on windthrow and other forest health factors.