The forest management practices that were approved and implemented throughout the timber harvesting land base when the timber supply analysis was initiated are briefly described below.
• Wildlife/biodiversity — Riparian buffer areas, where timber harvesting is restricted, are located along waterways to protect fish habitat and provide wildlife habitat. For the timber supply analysis, the timber harvesting land base was reduced by one per cent (11,883 hectares) to account for these buffers. In addition, forests that were deducted from the timber harvesting land base due to a predominance of deciduous species, environmental sensitivity or infeasibility for timber harvesting contribute to wildlife habitat and biodiversity.
• Basic silviculture — British Columbia laws require areas that are harvested and expected to produce timber in the future to be reforested with ecologically acceptable species within a specified time frame. The typical silvicultural practice is to harvest; then site prepare, if necessary; reforest by planting with ecologically acceptable species or relying on natural regeneration; and control competing vegetation. It is assumed that, on average, harvested areas will be restocked within three years of harvesting.
• Forest health and unsalvaged losses — Losses of timber to insects, fire, diseases and wind damage are minimized, and damaged timber is harvested whenever possible. The annual loss of timber that cannot be salvaged or recovered is estimated to be 192,000 cubic metres per year, attributable to:
• insects - 90,000 cubic metres per year
• windthrow - 70,000 cubic metres per year
• wildfire - 32,000 cubic metres per year
• Harvestable ages — Minimum harvestable age is defined as the time it takes for forests to grow to harvestable size. For the timber supply analysis, minimum harvestable ages for existing forests were based on species and timber productivity, and ranged from 60 to 140 years. For regenerated forests, minimum harvestable ages were defined as being between 55 and 170 years.
• Timber utilization — Within cutblocks, all timber that meets or exceeds the following size limits and is suitable for manufacturing lumber or pulp chips must be utilized:
• diameter at stump height: 15 centimetres
• diameter at top: 10 centimetres
• Soil conservation — Harvesting and road construction follow regional and provincial guidelines. For the timber supply analysis, approximately 4.7 per cent of the timber harvesting land base with forests less than 25 years old (6,767 hectares) was deducted for existing roads and landings that have become non-productive through harvesting. To account for future roads and landings, the remaining land base was reduced by six per cent (61,620 hectares).
