What is selective cutting of trees?
Selective logging—the practice of removing one or two trees and leaving the rest intact—is often considered a sustainable alternative to clear-cutting, in which a large swath of forest is cut down, leaving little behind except wood debris and a denuded landscape.
What are the advantages of selective cutting?
Selective Cutting as a Tool of Sustainable Forestry When practiced correctly, selective cutting has the following benefits. Removes trees that are low quality while they are young. Removes some of the profitable mature growth. Allows more light to penetrate the upper story of growth.
What is the process of selective cutting?
Selective cutting is the cutting down of selected trees in a forest so that growth of other trees is not affected. This is done according to criteria regarding minimum tree size for harvesting, specifications of the number, spacing and size classes of residual trees per area, and allowable cut.
What can selective cutting of trees result in?
Selective cutting typically leads to an uneven-age structure. Using seed trees can lead to an even-age structure for the new stand if regeneration occurs quickly; if regeneration occurs gradually, the result can be an uneven aged stand.
How does selective cutting affect the environment?
“Selective logging, unless it is practiced at very low harvest intensities, can significantly reduce the biomass of a tropical forest for many decades, seriously diminishing aboveground carbon storage capacity, and create opportunities for weeds and vines to spread and slow down the ecological succession.”
Is selective tree cutting sustainable?
The selection or selective cutting approach to harvesting wood is part of a sustainable silviculture system. That means it nurtures the health of the forest and its wildlife.
Why is selective cutting better than clear-cutting?
Selective Cutting Harvest Method This process allows for better yield and productivity over several decades. Each year provides trees for harvest, rather than having to wait a minimum of sixty years after a clear cut.
What is selective cutting a forest?
Selection cutting, also known as selection system, is the silvicultural practice of harvesting trees in a way that moves a forest stand towards an uneven-aged or all-aged condition, or ‘structure’.
What is selective cutting in geography?
Definition of selective cutting : the cutting out of trees that are mature or defective, or of inferior kinds to encourage the growth of the remaining trees in a forest or wood.
What are disadvantages of selective cutting?
Harmful to Trees Selective logging is harmful not only to the trees that are cut down, but to the ones near them. It is estimated that for each tree that is logged, 30 others are harmed on average. One reason is that when a tree is cut down, the machinery that is used to log it can seriously damage the nearby trees.
Is selective cutting better than clear-cutting?
With selective logging, the largest trees are taken which means a loss in the seed source. The trees remaining often shade seedlings (small plants) that need sunlight to grow and eventually become trees. Clear-cutting is better when the soil already contains seeds.