Record Details

Old-growth definitions and management: A literature review

Journal of Ecosystems and Management

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Title Old-growth definitions and management: A literature review
 
Creator Hilbert, Jaime
Wiensczyk, Alan
 
Subject old growth; old-growth management; landscape-level objectives; natural disturbance; late-successional
 
Description Over the past two decades, scientific discoveries have altered how forest management is viewed, including the understanding of late-successional or old-growth forest communities. Some accept that old-growth forests should be managed, but the process of identification and management of these forests has proven to be very difficult. This review examines literature on old growth and old-growth management from a broad North American base with a focus on the special issues associated with high-frequency forest disturbance regimes. The purpose of this paper is to: examine the various old-growth definitions and management approaches; review the importance of old-growth management and conservation; and draw conclusions and make recommendations based on the information reviewed. Old-growth definitions were divided into three categories: conceptual functional, conceptual structural, and quantitative working. The relative merits and challenges of each category are discussed using examples from different forest types across North America, but the focus is on northern fire-dependent forest ecosystems. The authors recommend the establishment of landscape-level objectives for old-growth retention that include: approaching management from an ecological perspective; recognizing the importance of varied natural disturbance patterns; increasing funds for detailed inventories (especially in more contentious or ecologically sensitive areas); developing a regional old-growth attribute scoring theme or index; using a top-down approach to old-growth management; and developing a monitoring plan to determine the effectiveness of established objectives.
 
Publisher Canadian Institute for Studies in Publishing Press
 
Contributor —
 
Date 2007-03-14
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
Peer-reviewed Article
 
Format application/pdf
 
Identifier http://jem-online.org/index.php/jem/article/view/360
 
Source Journal of Ecosystems and Management; Vol 8, No 1 (2007)
 
Language eng
 
Relation http://jem-online.org/index.php/jem/article/view/360/275