After completing this chapter you should be able to:

• find additional training for silvicultural systems and related topics
• find key reference sources on silvicultural systems.

Nothing beats face-to-face training with knowledgeable trainers, specialists, and other practitioners who have a range of experiences. British Columbia is fortunate to have training workshops and courses that cover the full spectrum of topics for silvicultural systems. Trainers are familiar with adult education principles, and are effective communicators and specialists in their field. The workshops generally cost between $100 and $150 per day.

More workshops are being developed and updated every year. Here is a list and description of the key silvicultural systems workshops:

What You Will Learn

Additional Training

Other Workshops and Learning Opportunities

Introduction to Silvicultural Systems

Yes, you can get everything in this book in a workshop format. Discussions with other practitioners round out the learning process and the workshop uses a larger regional case study.

1 day (indoors) - Available on demand in any locale through the
FCS Network (see sidebar).

Silvicultural Systems - Partial-cutting Decisions
and Prescriptions (Southern Interior/Coast)

This workshop focuses on the prescriptions building process and how to choose a silvicultural system. The workshop also discusses implementation issues that could impact a prescription by looking at examples on the ground. The workshop is 75% field based. A marking exercise and a prescription exercise are also built in. The southern interior workshop was developed in Vernon. The coastal workshop is centred around Cowichan Lake on Vancouver Island, and a northern interior workshop is based in Prince George.

4 days (mostly outdoors) - Available once per year in each location.
Contact the FCS Network (see sidebar).

Uneven-aged Management - Prescribing for Success

Centred at a ranch in the Southern Rocky Mountain Trench, this workshop provides the right atmosphere, time period, information, and range of instructors to help practitioners who are grappling with this complex topic. The workshop focuses on clarifying concepts, setting objectives, and developing prescriptions and marking guides for single tree selection uneven-aged management.

The workshop is mostly field oriented with numerous outdoor activities including: ecosystem management discussions; stand structural objectives discussions; data collection exercises; tree marking exercises; and, a prescription exercise. A computer spreadsheet uses uneven-aged management regulation concepts to help you develop prescriptions and tree marking guides. Guest speakers from the West Kootenays and Montana round out evening discussions. Experience with Microsoft Excel or a similar spreadsheet program is recommended.

5 days (mostly outdoors) - Available once per year.
Contact the FCS Network (see sidebar).

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Windthrow Management Workshop

This workshop reviews windthrow hazard and risk assessment procedures with practice in the field. Emphasis is on management of windthrow on edges.

1 day
Contact the FCS Network (see sidebar).

Windthrow Prescription Workshop

This workshop expands on the management workshop to include windthrow considerations in partial cutting, and considerations and management practices for riparian reserves. More practice in hazard and risk assessment is also provided.

1 day
Contact the FCS Network (see sidebar).

Stand Level Biodiversity for Forest Managers

This workshop provides stand level managers with a good understanding of the linkage between biodiversity, other stand level management objectives, and the Forest Practices Code.

2 days
Contact the FCS Network (see sidebar).

Vernon Forest District Demonstration Areas

In 1994-95, the Small Business Forest Enterprise Program in the Ministry of Forests Vernon Forest District developed four silvicultural systems demonstration areas to provide a hands-on learning experience for visiting forestry practitioners. Self-guiding tour booklets were created to direct you to these areas and guide you through some learning experiences and discussion points at a variety of sites in each demonstration area.

Other Demonstration and Research Areas

While research projects are currently underway throughout the province, here are some notable areas which you may want to visit.

Kamloops - The Ministry of Forests, Kamloops Forest Region, developed the Opax Silvicultural Systems Research Area (northwest of Kamloops) and the Sicamous Creek Silvicultural Systems Research Area (east of Salmon Arm) to investigate and demonstrate ecological, biological, and management issues while using a variety of silvicultural systems. The focus is the impact of gap size on a variety of issues. The Opax area is located in the Interior Douglas-fir zone, while the Sicamous Creek area focuses on the Engelmann Spruce - Subalpine Fir zone.
https://www.for.gov.bc.ca/kamloops/research/opax/index.htm

Nelson - The Ministry of Forests, Nelson Forest Region, developed the West Arm Demonstration Forest on the West Arm of Kootenay Lake, close to Nelson. This project demonstrates a range of silvicultural systems carefully planned at the landscape level to meet a range of objectives and ecological considerations.
https://www.for.gov.bc.ca/nelson/research/summary/index.htm
https://www.for.gov.bc.ca/nelson/research/summary/rs003.htm
https://www.for.gov.bc.ca/nelson/research/summary/rs013.htm

Prince George - The Ministry of Forests, Prince George Forest Region, developed several silvicultural systems trials at Aleza Lake (east of Prince George) and at Lucille Mountain (near McBride). These trials illustrate issues in sub-boreal spruce forests and old redcedar/hemlock stands, using a range of partial cutting silvicultural systems.
https://www.for.gov.bc.ca/pgeorge/research/notes/index.htm

Smithers - The Ministry of Forests, Prince Rupert Forest Region, developed a number of projects near Smithers and at Date Creek, near Hazelton, demonstrating a range of silvicultural systems in sub-boreal spruce and old hemlock stands.
https://www.for.gov.bc.ca/prupert/research/date_creek/MAINPAGE.htm

Williams Lake - The Ministry of Forests, Cariboo Forest Region, developed several group selection demonstration and research areas east of Williams Lake in the Engelmann Spruce - Subalpine Fir zone near Quesnel Lake. Also, they have developed an area at Knife Creek (south of Williams Lake) to demonstrate their mule deer winter range guidelines which encourage harvesting using uneven-aged management techniques in the interior Douglas-fir zone. The Alex Fraser UBC Research Forest (east of Williams Lake) has also established several demonstration areas for shelterwood and selection systems in Douglas-fir and redcedar/hemlock stands.
https://www.for.gov.bc.ca/cariboo/research/silsys.htm

Vancouver - Montane Alternative Silvicultural Systems (MASS) - Montane forests have a winter snowpack and are found between 700 and 1100 metres in elevation on central Vancouver Island. The MASS partnership is a multi-agency cooperative testing new approaches to harvesting and regeneration. It builds upon knowledge and expertise gained in over 20 years of silvicultural and ecological research and operations in this forest type (Arnott and Pendl 1994; Arnott et al. 1995).

The objectives of the MASS project are to:

1. Test alternative silvicultural systems for coastal montane forests.
2. Document the operational costs and feasibility.
3. Study the biological and silvicultural impacts.

For more information see:
http://www.pfc.cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/practices/mass/index.html

The Roberts Creek study forest on the Sunshine Coast was set up to compare management of lower elevation Douglas-fir ecosystems. Project information is available on the web site at:
https://www.for.gov.bc.ca/VANCOUVR/vanprojects.htm

Literature

This booklet just scratches the surface of the topic of silvicultural systems. The body of literature on silvicultural systems is exhaustive. However, scan the list of references in Appendix 3 and try to expand your library to include some of these publications. Here are a few comments on some of the better textbooks:

The Practice of Silviculture (1986)
by David Smith
A favourite of many. The chapters covering silvicultural systems demonstrate a depth of experience, both operational and academic, which spans several countries and climates. The theoretical is tempered by realistic observations and experiences.

Silvicultural Systems (1989)
by John Mathews
A comprehensive compendium of the classic silvicultural systems from the European experience, with some observations on applications in North America and the tropics.

Silviculture Concepts and Applications (1996)
by Ralph Nyland
Nyland takes some of the topics and concepts discussed by Smith and Mathews and updates them with issues and considerations from the 1990s. The conceptual basis for silviculture and silvicultural systems is well covered. Also, anyone interested in uneven-aged management and selection systems - Mr. Nyland's specialties - will find lots of useful information here.

Forest Stand Dynamics (1990/revised 1996)
by Chadwick Oliver and Bruce Larson
Still a classic. You can't properly prescribe silvicultural systems without a solid understanding of stand dynamics. This book should be a prerequisite for anyone manipulating stand structure at the stand level. The 1996 edition includes more recent information on climate change, multi-cohort (uneven-aged) stands, mixed-species stands, pruning, and stand edges. It also includes more global references to reinforce the concept that similar patterns and processes occur in stands worldwide.

The Ecology and Silviculture of Mixed Species Forests (1992)
by Kelty, Larson and Oliver
Although weighty in its scientific writing, this book tackles the most challenging topic for silvicultural systems - management of species mixtures. Do not be put off by the numerous case studies from Europe and the tropics. You will find some nuggets of wisdom where you least expect them.

The rest of the references in Appendix 3 will be of interest, depending on where you practice. Remember, however, to continue returning to the textbooks now and then to re-ground yourself in silvicultural systems. Government policies, short-term economics, and local politics can easily cause you to lose the perspective that is so important to silvicultural systems.

As you accumulate publications, don't just place them like trophies on your bookshelf - read them. Don't believe everything they have to say. Continue to ask questions. Observe nature and place extracted gems of wisdom from others in context with what you are seeing on the ground.

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