CHAPTER VIII 

 SILVICULTUREMETHODS OF NATURAL REPRODUCTION * 



1. DEFINITION AND GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS 



Silviculture is the art of producing, reproducing, and tending the 

 forest. It is the business of growing trees, as contrasted with the 

 business of using them (utilization). The two are inseparably inter- 

 dependent and interwoven in the practice of forestry. In the opinion 

 of many foresters, silviculture includes forest protection, as that is a 

 part of growing and tending a forest. 



As indicated above, forests are reproduced by: (a) seeds; (b) 

 sprouts from the stump or root suckers; and (c) cuttings. These are 

 the very foundations of the various methods of reproducing the forest 

 by natural means. 



Silviculture is based upon silvics, which includes the fundamental 

 laws of growth and development of single trees and of the forest as a 

 biological unit. The purpose of silviculture is to produce the highest 

 returns both in quality and quantity on a given area within a stated 

 length of time. This purpose, however, may depend upon the wishes 

 of the owner of the timberland. He may desire to improve the hunt- 

 ing and fishing facilities or the grazing or scenic conditions concur- 

 rently with wood production. However, the usual primary objective 

 of silviculture is wood production. 



The province of applied silviculture may include: 



1. Methods of naturally reproducing a forest silvicultural 

 systems. 



2. Methods of artificial reproduction (generally known as refor- 

 estation or tree planting) . 



3. Methods of treating a growing forest to improve its quality, 

 growth rate, and composition. 



Intensive silviculture as practiced in Europe is not possible gen- 

 erally in the United States because of our unfavorable economic con- 



* Based largely upon "Practice of Silviculture" by R. C. Hawley, John Wiley 

 & Sons, New York, 1935. For enlargement and further expansion of the subject 

 refer to this book. 



