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Consideration of wood quality in variable retention systems : British Columbia as an example

University of British Columbia

Demands for high quality wood are expected to increase as wood products begin to replace concrete and steel, particularly in tall buildings. Even as markets change, forest managers will be required to balance conflicting management objectives. Managing for wood quality may be a significant part of the solution to continue meeting social, ecological and economic criteria. Variable retention systems are used to meet ecological objectives, such as wildlife habitat and biodiversity as well as visual quality objectives around the world. Despite their widespread use, most wood quality research has focused on even-aged systems that lack vertical and horizontal complexity, one of the primary objectives of retention systems. To better understand wood quality in retention systems, a framework was created for simulating lumber recovery in coastal Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) that is spatially explicit from end to end. A literature review of the interaction between the live crown and silviculture on wood density was also undertaken. I advocate that wood density is not influenced by competition from neighboring overstory trees or from trees of the same cohort. Simulations of retention systems demonstrate that retention of overstory trees to improve social or ecological management objectives occurs at a cost associated with the reduction in volume from overstory competition. The increase in wood quality (branch size, frequency, and distribution) associated with increasing overstory retention is negligible when compared to the loss in volume. This work provides an accurate estimate of the costs and implications for wood products associated with alternative silviculture systems and sustainable forest management.

Text

2019-10-15

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/71919

Forestry

University of British Columbia

UBCV

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/