The Future is Abundant
A Guide to Sustainable Agriculture

Back to the Table of Contents

Site-Specific Forestry

Mike Maki

Site-specific forestry is an approach to forest management which takes into account existing species and age mixtures, local microclimatic conditions, terrain and hydrology. Conventional monoculture forestry relies on slash-burning and herbicides to try to maintain woodlands at the pioneer stage of succession, allowing only one tree, usually Douglas-fir, to grow to maturity. Site-specific forestry, on the other hand, requires more sensitive harvest and management techniques, and more human labor. While net profits may be somewhat reduced in a site-speicifc management system, better utilization of forest products such as posts, poles, firewood, pulpwood and small sawlogs is made possible, and higher quality timber is also produced.

Hand clearing of weedy vegetation from around young conifer seedlings, called manual release, rather than using aerial herbicide sprays to kill competition is an important site-specific forestry technique. In many cases, the skilled eye and weeding tool or chainsaw of a person on the ground turns out to be more cost effective than aerial sprays. Claudio Katz, a forest and watershed rehabilitation contractor from Arcata, California, explains some of the advantages of manual release in his 1981 paper, An Economic and Silvicultural Analysis Between Alternative Forest Vegetation Management Practices and Aerially Applied Phenoxy Herbicides for conifer Release:

        Manual release of conifers in the Pacific Northwest began in 1977
with experimental work clearing brush from around conifers.  Until
recently the most common mehtod used was total clearing of hardwood
and brush species, using chainsaws and other cutting equipment.
Current manual release practices combine the release operation with a tree
thinning operation.  Brush is cut only around the crop tree in an
upward projected cylinder or half-circle.  In some cases, certain species
of brush and hardwoods are exempted from cutting, and in one case,
the crop trees selected for release were hardwoods, in the absense of
healthy Douglas-fir or pine trees.  The decreased costs associated with
improved contract specifications are a direct result of increased
skills and labor productivity and the demand for work opportunities.
        An advantage of manual release is that it can be combined with
tree thinning at no or only slightly additional cost.  Manual release can
also be more sensitive than sprays in the buffer zones along streams,
near residences, and in the vicinity of crops.   It also eliminates
the problem of toxic sprays drifting onto land not intended for application.

Because of its reliance on local conditions and careful workers, site-specific forestry provides opportunities to experiment with creative management techniques. Wildlife managers have shown that planting certain herb, legume and shrub species provides wildlife browse which deer and other grazing animals usually prefer to conifer seedlings. Coast trailing blackberry (Rubus ursinus), for example, has been widely planted in some clearcut areas. The further enhancement of blackberry production by using select cultivars could benefit both wildlife and berry pickers. On suitable sites, fruit and nut trees may also be planted by land owners in forest clearings created after logging.

Studies are now underway to determine if grazing sheep on newly replanted forestland may help control brush while tree seedlings become established. Flocks of sheep have traditionally been moved into mountain meadows and logged-off lands during the summer when the dry lowland pastures could not provide sufficient forage, but until recently grazing sheep had not been considered as a commercial management tool. Since sheep prefer the brushy shrub species to the young conifer trees, however, using them as an alternative to herbicides is now attracting interest among forest managers.

For the sheep to be effective, they must be turned in while the shrubs are young and just beginning to sprout. At his stage, the sheep's grazing can kill or set back the shrubs. Leter browsing may actually increase foliage production of established shrubby species, just as prunign stimulates new growth in trees and bushes.

The latter technique could be useful to land owners who wish to increase the productive capacity of a plot of forestland while they are waiting for the trees to mature. Sheep turned in at the right time could increase production of a middle-story crop such as huckleberries or blueberries. Good management of any native or domestic animals in a woodlot is crucial, as uncontrolled browsing can seriously deform young crop trees.

Control of vegetation by sheep may be combined with other income-producing activities, such as bringing honeybees to recently logged lands during the herb and shrub stages of succession. This is now being profitably done on some clearcut lands. These intermediate crops could provide a financial return from the land until commercial forest trees overshadow the shrub and ground layers, and when combined with manual release, could also provide employment opportunities from lands in early stages of reforestation.

All site-specific forestry management techniques require people who are willing to diverisfy their economic activities and take advantage of seasonal forest work. They may become involved as tree planters, thinners, fuelwood harvesters, shhep herders or cone gatherers, as well as the more familiar forest occupations of logger, equipment operator, truck driver or mill worker. Their contribution to a more intensive, diversified forestry could mean more employment opportunities as well as better forest management.

Modern industrial timber management sees the reduction of employees as a way to decrease overhead and increase profits. In the future, however, increased employment opportunities will be an essential condition for, and a major advantage of, intensive locally based, responsible woodlot management.s

Coppicing for Fuel

Coppicing, or the repeated harvest of sprouts which have grown from tree stumps, is an ancient practice which is currently enjoying a revival. The art and science of coppicing have become quite sophisiticated over the centuries, and several species can be planted specifically for this purpose, including hazel, red alder, chestnut and poplar.

For the small woodlot owner or manager, the advantages of coppicing are many. Proper planning, planting and rotations can insure a virtually perpetual harvest of firewood for home or commercial use. The manager can see a return from a piece of land planted to trees in as few as five years, thus making tree planting more economically feasible. Because sprouts are relatively thin when harvested, the labor of splitting firewood is greatly reduced.

Research is also underway to determine the value of coppiced trees as a source of alcohol and methanol feedstocks, and as greenchop forage or silage for ruminant livestock, whose intestinal flora enable them to utilize the food energy in these high-cellulose materials. In Europe, coppiced woods are also used for a wide variety of traditional crafts. Thus, the products of a piece of coppiced land may have several markets in the future.

Planting a coppice, then, may be one of the most rewarding things a landowner can do.

The Future is Abundant A Guide to Sustainable Agriculture

Site-Specific Forestry

Mike Maki

Coppicing for Fuel

The Future is Abundant
A Guide to Sustainable Agriculture