A unit of Lasting Forests evolving since March 30, 1999
A Total Forest Management Plan and Wildland Management Decision Support System
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The Forest Animal Resource

A major concept of silviculture is the study of the consequences (all types) of different levels of tree harvest, ranging along a continuum from single-tree selection to large-area clear cuts. The landscape pattern of such harvest is also of interest and it too can be described along a continuum. One result of making a harvest is the timber yield, but there are other consequences.

One of these is changes in faunal populations. "Wildlife" is viewed as an over-generalized, functionless, and misleading word. Tree harvests result in increases in some animal species, decreases in others, and some are unaffected over the rotation age. The loss in one species may equal gains in another. Since animal species, like tree species, do not have the same value to humans (or role in ecosystems) it is necessary for foresters to compute net yield of faunal value when serving rational land owners who seek tree harvests that may maximize (or achieve a specified level of) faunal value over a stated period. It seems inappropriate to continue to generalize about the wild animals produced, extra, as a result of tree harvests. Perhaps potential desired faunal value produced over a stated period may be one way of expressing for a land owner one consequence of tree removal. Other production from the same removals may then be analyzed, compared, and perhaps someday optimized.

The faunal resource can be producing annual financial gains for the forest landowner when it is well managed. Some of these concepts are described as the Rural System.

Information about the management of individual species and some species groups is available in this Web site.

A text on forest faunal resource management is available.

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