Friday, April 12, 2013
Introduction to Forest Ecology and Silviculture
Post summaries for your section of Introduction to Forest Ecology and Silviculture in the comments (in order please), then pass the book along to the next labeled person. Please note the pages of the book you are summarizing at the top of your comment.
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The first chapter of the IFES reading is really an introduction to the book. Some of the the key terms and points are:
ReplyDeleteForest ecology- the study of life in areas where the pre-dominating vegetation is trees.
Silviculture- the art and science of controlling the species mix, growth rate, and form of trees in forests for the production of wood products and other benefits.
There was also a section about the three main points the author wants to make.
1. Practical concepts are emphasized, but not to the point of oversimplification.
2. The author avoided using specialized terms as much as possible.
3. The material in the book is most relevant to woodland owners, loggers, and foresters.
The second chapter was really all an overview of stuff we have already done or seen, such as marking trees, counting rings, and the effects of "timber harvesting".
On pages 14 through 25 of Introduction to Forest Ecology and Silviculture, it touches on basic tree biology and succession tolerance of certain trees. Here are some important facts
ReplyDelete-About 20% of a trees mass is in the roots
-The stem is about 60% of a trees mass
-Branches and leaves are about 20% of a tress mass
-The growing portion of a tree is only a thin layer of cells surrounding the main stem
-Root systems tend to be more extensive on drier sites
-Primary succession is when there is gradual growth in bare mineral soil
-Secondary succession is when disturbance in a plant society occurs
-Pioneer species grow fast but don't live long
-The more drastic a disturbance, the further back succession is set
-Aspen is the most widely distributed tree in North America
- Eastern White Pine usually grows in coarse well drained soils
-Eastern White Pine can out compete Aspen and birches for sunlight
-A weevil is an insect that kills Easter White Pine
-Northern Red Oak produces seeds when it is thirty or forty years old
-Sugar maple will grow just about anywhere, except high elevations and wet sites
Pages 26-36 include chapters 4,5, and the beginning of chapter 6.
ReplyDeleteChapter 4 is about the effects of stress and disturbance on forest ecosystems.
1. interdependence of an ecosystem
2. balance of the ecosystem
3. how the ecosystem deals with disturbances
4. how a ecosystem reaches a new equilibrium
5. how weather and insects effect a ecosystem
6. acidic deposition
chapter 5 forest management is controlling disturbances
1. logging used as a tool to help the forest
2. how thinning shock can be used and what it is
3. clear cutting
4. logging equipment
5. forest management
chapter 6 silviculture in the northeast
1. what silviculture is and where it came from and a little about it and how it is considered a art
2. the practice of silviculture
Pages 37-48 discussed different types of silviculture and what they are used for as well as giving some examples of each. It discusses things such as improving tree stands so that you could sell them for more money or if you were to selectively cut down trees for money. Also recreational improvement which is basically thinning out certain species of trees so that others such as maples can be used for producing maple syrup.
ReplyDeletePages 48-60 included the last half of chapter 7 and all of chapter 8. The chapter 7 section discussed selecting trees by way of group harvesting or single harvesting. It also highlighted uneven-aged methods which is telling the age of the forest instead of trying to age every single tree in the forest. Chapter 8 went in detail about creating silvicultural prescriptions which includes much of what Alden talked about.
ReplyDelete