Silviculture can be described as the art of manipulating the growth of trees, their composition, their needs and their quality so that they can match the desires of landowners and silviculturists. Before excelling in the field of silviculture, it would help if one understood silvics a little better. In a nutshell, knowing your trees would help you be better in manipulating them to meet your needs.
Trees have different sunlight requirements. There are some short varieties that have adapted to living under the shadow of much taller varieties, so they don’t need direct exposure to the sun when they want to flourish well. For the taller varieties, a full day of sun is compulsory so that they can be at their best.
Trees have different growth patters. Some are fast, growing rapidly within the first few years, while others take their time, growing only a few countable feet within every year. Understanding the seeding requirements of trees is also of the essence as it helps a silviculturist know what kind of soil is best for what variety of plant. Thus knowing the ecological patterns of growth and maturity is also encouraged too. The end result, at least that which is desired.
For manipulation of the growth of trees in silviculture, some methods such as pollarding and coppicing are practiced. Though ancient, such as coppicing, they still achieve the desired end result. For hardwoods that are non-coniferous, a growth sprout is still observed when the tree is cut. Thus anytime that these hardwoods are being harvested, the level of cutting is observed so that a sprout will have an easier time emerging and re-growing into another tree. This is one of the processes that go into forest regeneration where tree cover is renewed after controlled deforestation has taken place. Different selection systems are employed depending on the kinds of trees in question. It could be carried out on single trees, or in groups.
Thinning is an extremely important process in silviculture as it is what determines the growth pattern in a said tree. The quality and health of trees that have undergone thinning is usually very high, which leads to harvesting of commercially usable trees.
In conclusion, the silvicultural methods selected are solely dependent on the kind of species of trees in question. Different species demand different methods and understanding this is what brings success in good forestry and silviculture in general.
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