Topic 6.1: Writing a Forest Management Plan

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Content

Topic Introduction

Managing human activities in a forest in such a way that all the expected goods and services are provided over the long-term is an extraordinarily difficult task. So difficult in fact, that doing so has been described as a wicked problem, in other words, a problem with no readily identifiable solution. Adding to the complexity is the uncertainty associated with incomplete knowledge of the likely consequences of particular actions, and the added complexity of the impacts of climate change on forest ecosystems. Together, these different sources of complexity create a formidable task for forest managers.

Adaptive management is a process by which managers can continuously improve their practices through learning from the outcomes of both operational and experimental practices (but primarily the former). This is much more than “learning by doing”, since it involves a formal, structured approach to designing, implementing and monitoring management actions.

In this topic, you will examine some of the many different aspects of adaptive management. You will work with four major management questions:

  • What do we want?
  • How do we get that?
  • Is our approach correct?
  • What do we do if the approach is wrong?

Decision support

Given the complexities of forest management, and the many conflicting demands that managers have to try and meet, it is not surprising that there are a range of tools available to help them make decisions. Some of these tools, such as remotes sensing and GIS are related to the primary data collection and analysis. Others are used once all the available information has been assembled. In this topic, you will examine some of the tools that are available to you.

Decision support tools start with organizing data and other information in a structured way. The old saying about not being able to see the forest for the trees, is very apt here. The wealth of information available to a manager may simply be overwhelming, and tools are needed to try and sift through this information to determine what is the most important, and how it can be dealt with in ways that minimize potential adverse impacts on any particular components of the forest. For example, a decision to manage the amount of coarse woody debris in a forest by the use of prescribed burning may have adverse effects on the amount of carbon stored in a forest and any species that are dependent on coarse woody debris as a habitat. Conversely, long-term fire suppression, while apparently conserving timber stocks, may have a whole range of adverse effects, preventing the forest ecosystem from renewing itself. In this part of the topic, you will learn about the structured approach that needs to be taken when making difficult and complex decisions about a forest.

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