Introduction to silviculture - webinar information, October 19, 2011

[Peter Smallidge]

For those who missed the webinar on October 19, 2011, here is some background and the links to the recordings for "Introduction to Silvicultural Principles and Practices."

 

Description:

October 19, 2011.  An introduction to silvicultural practices for private woodlands.  Woodland owners often hear foresters discussing the use of silviculture as the best means to sustainable manage private forested property.  Deliberate and attentive management, using silvicultural principles and practices, can help woodland owners better accomplish their objectives.  Join Dr. Peter Smallidge, Cornell University Cooperative Extension - Department of Natural Resources, for this webinar to learn more about silviculture and it's benefits to private woodlands.  The webinar will define silviculture, describe the components of the forest manipulated through silviculture, discuss and illustrate examples of tools and practices used, and illustrate the changes in a forest following different types of silvicultural activities.

 

Links to recordings

Noon = http://breeze.cce.cornell.edu/p34083540/

Evening = http://breeze.cce.cornell.edu/p40254157/

Handout of the presentation as a pdf

Silviculture%20for%20Landowners.webinar.oct2011_4xhandout.pdf

 

If you participated in the webinar here is the link to the evaluation (ignore after October 27, 2011)

https://cornell.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_3ksPnGtHLh4qAIs

 

Some terse summary thoughts based on discussions:

• The noon session had a nice discussion about the difference between a large group selection and a small patch cut.  There are two elements to this.  As one participant pointed out, a group selection is an uneven-aged treatment and thus applied to a portion of the stand.  The patch clearcut is an even-aged treatment and applied at the whole stand level.  Patch and strip clearcuts may be applied sequentially, but within the necessary interval (20% of rotation) the entire stand is treated.  The second element is how to describe that to others.  In my mind (what do you think?) there is a bit more gray here.  The term clearcut has some negative association with many people.  On small private holdings, with small stands, what is technically a clearcut of 2 to 5 acres is equal or perhaps smaller than a group selection cut within a 70 acre stand.  The subsequent tending treatments might be similar, the administration distinctly different, but the palitability quite different.  I'm not endorsing a confusion of terms, but am aware that how we present a discussion has an impact on how the audience perceives the practice.
• The evening session had some nice discussion on pine regeneration, though we ran out of time to develop the thoughts very far.  Anyone interested in some good background reading on individual species should review the North American Silvics Manual.
• Regeneration, as I presented the subject, dealt a great deal with light and interfering vegetation.  I don't want to under-emphasize the importance of deer. Other webinars covered the impacts of deer and there the presentation already had exceeded the 60 minute intended duration.