TOPICS:
Understanding environmental problems; making effective use of technical information; justifying aspirations; market approaches; applicable to land use and growth issues; written for the first party participant.
ABSTRACT:
The Forest and the Trees is an examination of the history of forestry in the United States and the goal of multiple use, with suggestions for improving forest management.
The Forest and the Trees will be of interest to those who seek a basic understanding of forest management and multiple use. The book is divided into four parts. The first of these is offers a brief history of forestry in the United States. The author considers the effects of the European system on U.S. forestry and the birth of the Forest Service. He also considers the early effects of clear-cutting and early efforts of industry to maintain sustainable yields. The second chapter discusses, what the author considers to be a raid on the national forests. He also traces the history of the wilderness controversy from the late 1920s. The author considers in some depth the change in forest management during the Kennedy years.
Part two addresses the science and philosophy of multiple use and addresses the environmental concerns of forestry. The first chapter of this part addresses one of two approaches to forest management; silvicultural systems (tree farming). After a brief discussion of the history of silviculture and the methods it employs, the author discusses the disadvantages of clear-cutting and even-age management. Among the more significant disadvantages of silviculture discussed are: reduced wildlife habitat, loss of recreational value and species diversity, the increased risk of fire and disease, and damage to the soil. Chapter four is concerned with the potential for excellent forestry which the author asserts to be multiple use forestry; the second forest management approach. The author examines the advantages of multiple use forestry which include mitigation of many of the disadvantages of silviculture forestry with the addition of decreased windthrow, increased regeneration and economic soundness. The final chapter in this part discusses care of the soil. The author considers nutrient, microörganisms, and compaction.
Part three is concerned with forest planning, specifically, the mathematics of forestry. The first chapter in this part is concerned with mensuration and is rather technical in its reliance on: units of measure, log rules, the Scribner decimal C rule, the Huber rule, volume and yield tables and rotation schemes. Chapter seven considers forest plans. Advice on: general considerations, and methods for checking rotation, sustained yield and matching allowable sale quantity with sustained yields.
The final part lists supporting research and informed opinions. This amounts to a one hundred page bibliography with brief abstracts for each entry and will be most useful to the reader who wishes to pursue a more in-depth examination of the subject. The text is followed by two appendices: the first offers a method for checking sustainable yield, and the second offers a forest policy for conservationists.
The Forest and the Trees is a careful, if somewhat technical, examination of forestry. The informed reader will find this text a useful guide and resource for further study.
T. A. O'Lonergan