The scientific basis of forestry

Many questions faced by forestry scientists are also faced by those concerned about basic ecology. Scientists have tried to develop ecosystem-based management approaches that maintain the complexity and function of a system. They often act in nontraditional roles at the biology/sociology/policy interface. In the US two approaches with very different goals and scientific priorities have emerged in forestry. In most industrial lands the emphasis is on greater productivity of wood fiber. Federal forest management focuses on protecting diversity and water. Long-term sustainability are important for any owner, private or public. Productive genotype selection, fertilization, harvesting practices that compact soil, pest problems related to intensive forestry and the potential of loss of species with no commercial value are issues to be faced. Biology, soils and hydrology are emphasized, but other aspects of forestry are reviewed.