Intergroup Discussion
Silvicultural Strategies

Temporary Page - Chris currently writing up these discussions

Group 1 - Seppo, Chris, Roger, Uva, James, Marianne

Silvicultural Strategies comprise sets of silvicultural options which are applied at different time and forest scales (long- to short-term measures, landscape to stand and tree level).

Lots of things affect damage risk and one cannot choose one silvicultural option in isolation.

LAND SCAPE LEVEL	Insect spraying Felling pattern	fragmentation (good for fire but not for wind) location of forest areas - contiguity/continuity sequence operations species selection
STAND LEVEL TREE LEVEL	Thinning fertilisation shrub clearance controlled fires tree selection	species selection ploughing/site drainage silvicultural system - even-aged, uneven-aged rotation - target density initial spacing grazing pressure remedial drainage choice of regeneration
	SHORT TIMESCALE	LONG TIMESCALE

In the STORMS project we can use models to:

• Decide whether risk minimising is required
• Decide which silvicultural strategies to use

Sequence

1. Assess present forest stand

1. Decide whether risk is serious (run models for risk quantification)
2. If risk is significant, test alternative strategies and select the risk minimising one
3. If risk is not significant, free to choose strategies, and continue to test risk change through time

Group 2 - Barry, Heli, Erik, Andrew, David, Juan

Silvicultural Strategies (Options) and Management Objectives to minimise risk for future, present and new forests.

• When making decisions about silvicultural strategies, wind, snow and fire risk is not the only thing which is taken into account
• damage models are just another tool

Two possible approaches to the use of tools:

1. Have a list of potential strategies built into the models in a way which is appropriate to test each strategy and the consequent change in risk
2. Give sets of strategies to foresters ad they select the appropriate option

List of Possible Strategies:

Type of cultivation/drainage

Nutrition

Pruning

Public access/road building

Felling regime

Design of forest, size of felling coups

Regeneration V planted trees

Green edge use/severance cuts

Shelter belt edges - semi-permanent edges

Edge pruning

LOW	Vulnerability		HIGH
	Whatever you want
Probability
HIGH			Be very careful

1. What is possible ?
2. What reduces vulnerability?
3. What increases vulnerability?