Unit 5 Lesson 17 : Sustainable Forestry

Forests

Are an important natural resource that provide ecosystems services to human, such as: - food - medicine - fuel, fiber, timber - carbon sequestration - air purification - water purification - flood and erosion mitigation - maintenance of biodiversity - recreation - aesthetic and cultural value

Mitigating Deforestation

Deforestation is unsustainable forest use Reforestation : the intentional restocking of existing forests and woodlands that have been depleted Buying and using wood from certified providers that use ecologically sustainable forestry techniques - selective harvesting of trees - prohibiting logging in ecologically sensitive or highly biodiverse areas of forested land - transportation of felled trees via techniques that lessen ecological disruption and soil compaction Reusing/ repurposing/ recycling wood products

Mitigating Pathogens

IPM techniques can help minimize the threat of infestations in an ecologically sustainable manner - thinning of underbrush - knowledge of common pest species - setting pest traps/ manual weeding - biological control with natural predators Selective removal of diseased trees can also help slow the spread of infestations in a stand

Sustainable Forestry as an Environmental Solution

Methods - often increase the economic costs of using forest resources and reduce profit margins for timber companies - requires forestry workers to be trained on how to properly use these techniques Advantages - Mitigation of deforestation - preserves biodiversity -preserves critical ecosystems services that forests provide -economically supports organizations and timber companies that employ sustainable methods -reusing wood reduces the need to cut new timber - Using IPM and selective tree removal for pest management - ensures forestry workers are closely monitoring tree stands - reduces impact of pesticides/herbicides use on non target species, soil, and water - reduces likelihood of trophic structure disruption from pest eradication - more closely mimics natural balance of ecosystems - Prescribed burns - lessens the severity of naturally occurring fires by removing underbrush and debris - encourage new growth of native species - help manage pest species

The Role of Fire

Prescribed burns can actually improve forest health and are an important sustainable forestry technique

Sustainable Forestry

Refers to a collection of methods that attempt to mitigate the human impact of harvesting trees and using forest resource - selective trees cutting, rather than clear cutting - reforestation - buying and using timber that is sustainably sourced and certified - reusing wood - IPM and selective tree removal to reduce disease - prescribed burns for forest health

Randome Information

Some of the methods for mitigating deforestation include reforestation, using and buying wood harvested by ecologically sustainable forestry techniques, and reusing wood Methods to protect forests from pathogens and insects include integrated pest management and the removal of affected trees Prescribed burn is a method by which forests are set on fire under controlled conditions in order to reduce the occurrence of natural fires

Question

Sustainable use of forests in the United States would likely be encouraged by ... Answer: cutting small groups of medium and large sized trees in uneven aged forests