Division Explanatory note:

United Kingdom

‘Close-to-nature forest management’ (sometimes also referred to as ‘ecologically sound forestry’ or ‘continuous cover forestry’) is characterised by practices which try to emulate natural processes and which aim to combine the economic use of forests with nature conservation. The results are actively managed but multi-storeyed and rich mixed forests which are relatively close to natural forests. The concept includes active forest management with timber harvest and thus should not be mistaken for approaches explicitly intending to preserve natural processes e.g. in wilderness areas. The practices typically used may vary slightly from one country to another but would be expected to include the following elements use of native or site-adapted tree species, natural regeneration, limited machine operation, inclusion of nature conservation measures, exclusion of fertilisation or pesticide use, long rotation length, and single stem or group harvesting^f1.

Annotations

Footnotes

f1: From Duncker, P. S., S. M. Barreiro, G. M. Hengeveld, T. Lind, W. L. Mason, S. Ambrozy, and H. Spiecker. 2012. Classification of forest management approaches: a new conceptual framework and its applicability to European forestry. Ecology and Society 17(4): 51.

Notes on Division 3

Footnotes

f1: As amended by the Delegated Regulation on the increase of the percentage for nature and biodiversity.

Notes on Division

Footnotes

f1: Madrid Ministerial Declaration of 22 October 2015, as adopted by the Forest Europe Expert Level Meeting, 30 June-2 July 2015, Madrid, Spain, http://foresteurope.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/III.-ELM_7MC_2_2015_MinisterialDeclaration_adopted-2.pdf#page=5

Notes on Division 1

Footnotes

f1: E.g. small-scale forestry operations.
f2: Philipp S. Duncker, Susana M. Barreiro, Geerten M. Hengeveld, Torgny Lind, William L. Mason, Slawomir Ambrozy and Heinrich Spiecker, Classification of Forest Management Approaches: A New Conceptual Framework and Its Applicability to European Forestry, Ecology and Society 17(4): 51. http://dx.doi.org/10.5751/ES-05262-170451 p. 50: ‘Different forest management approaches or silvicultural systems can be arranged along a gradient of management intensity, depending on the specific silvicultural methods and practices used (species selection, site preparation, planting, tending, thinning, final harvesting, use of chemical agents, etc.). The choices of these methods and practices will have consequential impact on forest ecosystem structures and functions, including their biodiversity and other sustainability criteria. “Intensive” forest management usually prioritises economic considerations and notably biomass production objectives, whereas ecological concerns and other ecosystem functions and services play a comparatively minor role. Typical methods and operations under this approach include short rotation lengths, even-aged stands, the possibility to use non-autochthonous tree species, the application of chemical agents, clearcutting as final harvesting regime, intensive machine operations and soil cultivation, or fertilising and liming’.
f3: E.g. new machinery suitable for partial tree removals that address small-scale variability in stand structure; prevention of soil damage; new inventory models and IT systems for stand planning and management; remote surveillance technologies to prevent illegal logging; specialised sawmill technology, etc.