APES 5.17 - Sustainable Forestry

Ecological Sustainable Forestry

= forestry (using trees fro lumber) that minimizes damage to ecosystem (habitable, destruction, soil erosion, etc.)

1. Selective cutting or strip cutting

   • Only cutting some of the trees in an area (biggest and oldest) to preserve habitat (biodiversity) and topsoil

2. Using human and pack animal labor to minimize soil compaction from machinery

3. Replanting same species being logged

It maximizes long-term productivity of land and preserves the forests for future generations.

Sustainable Forestry Practices

1. Using recycled wood, or simply reusing without recycling (furniture, decorations, etc.)

2. Wood can be chipped and used as mulch for gardens or agriculture fields

3. Reforestation = replanting of trees in areas that have been deforested

4. Selectively removing diseased trees to prevent spread of infection through entire forests

   • Removes host from disease

   • Decreases density, making spread less likely

Fire Suppression

1. Stopping natural fires

   • Fire suppression is the practice of putting out all natural forest fires as soon as they start

2. Leads to more biomass buildup

   • Putting out fire immediately leads to more dry biomass buildup

     • It makes future fires worse

3. Monitoring instead

   • Close monitoring can prevent fire damage and worse fires in the furture

Prescribed Burns

1. Dead biomass builds up

   • Fuel for large forest fires

   • Stored nutrients trapped in dead biomass

   • Dead trees = susceptible to disease and pests spread

2. Small, controlled fires burn lots of dead biomass

   • Uses up dead biomass (fuel) preventing larger forest fires later

3. Promotes nutrient recycling

   • Nutrients in dead biomass are recycled → new growth