Continuous Cover Forestry in the Lake District, Cumbria, England

Continuous cover forestry (commonly referred to as "CCF") is an approach to the sustainable management of

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

s whereby forest stands are maintained in a permanently irregular structure, which is created and sustained through the selection and

harvesting Harvesting is the process of gathering a ripe crop from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper. On smaller farms with minimal mechanization, harvesting is the most labor-i ...

of individual trees. The term "continuous cover forestry" does not equate exactly to any one particular silvicultural system, but is typified by selection systems. For example

coppice with standards Coppicing is a traditional method of woodland management which exploits the capacity of many species of trees to put out new shoots from their stump or roots if cut down. In a coppiced wood, which is called a copse, young tree stems are repeate ...

and Reiniger's Target diameter harvesting are also continuous cover forestry. Different existing forest stands may require different silvicultural interventions to achieve a continuously productive irregular structure.

Overview

The term continuous cover forestry has been widely adopted in British forestry practice following the creation of the Continuous Cover Forestry Group in 1991. Currently the UK Forestry Standard and the guidelines of the silvicultural-systems UK Woodland Assurance Standard call for wider use and application of CCF in British forestry, as there is evidence that continuously productive irregular structured

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...

s are more robust and

resilient Resilience, resilient, resiliency, or ''variation'', may refer to: Science Ecology * Ecological resilience, the capacity of an ecosystem to recover from perturbations ** Climate resilience, the ability of systems to recover from climate change * ...

in response to

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

, and forest health threats in addition to a wide range of other social and environmental benefits. However, there remains some lack of understanding of the definition and practice of CCF among forestry professionals in Britain, and Ireland.

Background

CCF is an approach to

forest management Forest management is a branch of forestry concerned with overall administrative, legal, economic, and social aspects, as well as scientific and technical aspects, such as silviculture, protection, and forest regulation. This includes management for ...

which respects the characteristics and processes inherent to the site, and will normally involve a mixture of tree species and ages. In French, it is referred to as ''sylviculture irrégulière, continue et proche de la nature'' (SICPN) (i.e., continuous, irregular and close to nature silviculture),Turckheim, Brice de, M. Bruchiamacchie. (2005) ''La futaie irrégulière: Théorie et pratique de la sylviculture irrégulière, continue et proche de la nature.'' Avignon: Edisud. 282 p. and in German as ''Dauerwald'',Pommerening, A., and S.T. Murphy. (2004). A review of the history, definitions and methods of continuous cover forestry with special attention to afforestation and restocking.Forestry 77(1): 37-4

/ref> or ''naturgemässe waldwirtschaft'' (

close to nature forestry Close to nature forestry is a management approach treating forest as an ecological system performing multiple functions. Close to nature silviculture tries to achieve the management objectives with minimum necessary human intervention aimed at ac ...

). Management is based on the selection and promotion of individual trees, of all sizes, rather than the creation of areas with trees of uniform size. Any monitoring of the development of irregular stand structures will be achieved through periodic re-measurement of stem diameters in sample plots or across whole stands. Repeated interventions, typically at intervals of between 3 and 7 years, focus on the removal of trees which are interfering with the growth of trees with greater potential, the harvesting of crop trees at their optimum size, and the promotion of regeneration and small trees, such that an irregular stand structure is maintained in perpetuity. Regeneration will normally be by the growth of naturally-regenerated seedlings rather than by planting. Artificial regeneration (especially enrichment planting) may be needed to diversify the genetic and species composition, and to increase

ecological resilience In ecology, resilience is the capacity of an ecosystem to respond to a perturbation or disturbance by resisting damage and recovering quickly. Such perturbations and disturbances can include stochastic events such as fires, flooding, windstorms ...

to threats from climate change, pests, or disease.

Principles

The general approach to CCF can be outlined in terms of the following underlying principles, as defined by the Continuous Cover Forestry Group (CCFG): # Adapt the forest to the site - The forest manager works with the site and respects inherent variation, rather than imposing artificial uniformity. # Adopt a holistic approach - The whole

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...

is regarded as the production capital of the forest, including soil, carbon, water,

fungi A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from ...

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. E ...

fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. Zoo ...

, as well as the trees themselves. # Maintain forest habitats - Maintenance of the

forest habitat Forest ecology is the scientific study of the interrelated patterns, processes, flora, fauna and ecosystems in forests. The management of forests is known as forestry, silviculture, and forest management. A forest ecosystem is a natural woodland u ...

is essential (which requires that clear-felling is avoided). # Develop the forest structure - Stand improvement is concentrated upon the development of preferred individual trees rather than the creation of a uniform block of stems. A characteristic of permanently irregular stands is that yield control is based upon measurement of stem diameter and increment rather than age and area. These principles link to a rapidly developing evidence-base, from the UK, Ireland, continental Europe and elsewhere, in relation to managing irregularly structured woodlands and forests.

References

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External links

*
Continuous Cover Forestry Group
Forest management Forestry in the United Kingdom

Overview

Background

Principles

See also

References

External links