A gap-based approach for development of silvicultural systems to address ecosystem management objectives

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dc.contributor.authorCoates, K. D.en
dc.contributor.authorBurton, P. J.en
dc.contributor.departmentSustainable Agriculture and Natural Resource Management (SANREM) Knowledgebaseen
dc.date.accessioned2016-04-19T19:11:41Zen
dc.date.available2016-04-19T19:11:41Zen
dc.date.issued1997en
dc.descriptionMetadata only recorden
dc.description.abstractForesters have traditionally managed forests with silvicultural systems that prescribe stand homogeneity for optimized tree growth. The primacy of timber as the dominant objective is giving way to broader objectives such as sustaining the function and dynamics of ecosystems, maintaining ecosystem diversity and resilience or protecting sensitive species, while providing for a variety of ecosystem services of value to humanity. Protection and production of more diverse forest values demands consideration of the fine-scale variability found within forest stands and an understanding of the spatial and temporal response of forest ecosystems to manipulation. Studies of gap dynamics have contributed significantly to our understanding of the role of small-scale disturbance in forest ecosystems, but have been used little by foresters for predicting ecosystem response to partial cutting. We review the gap dynamics literature paying special attention to papers that use gap size or position as predictive variables for responses indicative of silvicultural success or maintenance of ecosystem function. Like canopy gaps created by natural tree death or wind throw, gaps are also generated by silvicultural systems which remove dominant trees. Results from the Date Creek silvicultural systems study in northwestern British Columbia presented here demonstrate the utility of a gap-based approach for understanding ecosystem responses to tree cutting. We propose a gap-based approach for study response to silvicultural manipulation that: (1) aids development of cutting prescriptions that maintain functional mature or old-growth conditions; (2) refines and extends our understanding of how biological structures, organisms and ecosystem processes are affected by fine-scale variation within stands; and (3) leads to development of novel silvicultural systems that meet timber production objectives, without compromising ecosystem management principles.en
dc.format.mimetypetext/plainen
dc.identifier1572en
dc.identifier.citationForest Ecology and Management 99(3): 337-354en
dc.identifier.issn0378-1127en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/66680en
dc.language.isoen_USen
dc.publisherAmsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier Science B.V.en
dc.rightsIn Copyrighten
dc.rights.holderCopyright 2006 by Elsevier B.V.en
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/en
dc.subjectGap analysisen
dc.subjectEcosystem managementen
dc.subjectResearch planningen
dc.subjectEcosystemen
dc.subjectPlanningen
dc.subjectForest managementen
dc.subjectForest ecosystemsen
dc.subjectResource management toolsen
dc.subjectNatural resource managementen
dc.subjectDisturbanceen
dc.subjectEcosystem functionsen
dc.subjectGap dynamicsen
dc.subjectPartial cutting of forestsen
dc.subjectSilvicultureen
dc.subjectEcosystemen
dc.titleA gap-based approach for development of silvicultural systems to address ecosystem management objectivesen
dc.typeAbstracten
dc.type.dcmitypeTexten

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