Hardwood timber production is the process of managing stands of

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, ...

trees to maximize woody output. The production process is not linear because other factors must be considered, including marketable and non-marketable goods, financial benefits, management practices, and the environmental implications, of those management practices. Forests include market and non-market products. Marketable products include goods that have a market price. Timber is the main one, with prices that range from a few hundred dollars per thousand board feet (MBF) to several thousand dollars for a veneer log. Others include grazing/fodder, specialty crops such as mushrooms or berries, usage fees for recreation or hunting, and biomass. Forests also provide some non-market values which have no current market price. Examples of non-market goods would be improving water quality, air quality, aesthetics, and

carbon sequestration Carbon sequestration is the process of storing carbon in a carbon pool. Carbon dioxide () is naturally captured from the atmosphere through biological, chemical, and physical processes. These changes can be accelerated through changes in lan ...

. The more biodiverse the hardwood-forest ecosystem, the more challenges and opportunities its managers face. Managers aim for

sustainable forest management Sustainable forest management (SFM) is the management of forests according to the principles of sustainable development. Sustainable forest management has to keep the balance between three main pillars: ecological, economic and socio-cultural. ...

to keep their cash crop renewing itself, using

silvicultural Silviculture is the practice of controlling the growth, composition/structure, and quality of forests to meet values and needs, specifically timber production. The name comes from the Latin ('forest') and ('growing'). The study of forests and wo ...

practices that include growing, selling, controlling insects and most diseases, providing manure, applying herbicle treatments, and thinning. Fertilization can stop the growth rate and amount of plant material, thus possibly increasing the number of wildlife that can inhabit a site. Invasive species control maintains an area's structure and native composition. But management can also harm the ecosystem; for example, machinery used in a timber harvest can compact the soil, stress the root system, reduce tree growth, lengthen the time needed for a stand to mature to harvestability. Machinery can also damage the

understory In forestry and ecology, understory (American English), or understorey (Commonwealth English), also known as underbrush or undergrowth, includes plant life growing beneath the forest canopy without penetrating it to any great extent, but abo ...

, disturbing wildlife habitat and prevent regeneration.

References

*Nyland, R.D. 2002. ''Silviculture: Concepts and Applications''. McGraw-Hill, New York. *Klemperer, D.W. 1996. ''Forest Resource Economics and Finance''. McGraw-Hill, New York. {{Forestry Wood products Forestry

See also

References