Observations about the effectiveness of utilizing single tree selection silviculture in redwood forestlands

Abstract

Harvesting in predominantly redwood forests has been ongoing in the Santa Cruz Mountain region for over 150 years. Under California Forest Practice rules specific to the Southern Subdistrict of the Coast District, clearcutting has been outlawed since 1970. Since that time, single tree selection has been the only silvicultural practice allowed in the Southern Subdistrict. Big Creek Lumber Company has been practicing some form of selective harvesting throughout coastal redwood forestlands in the Santa Cruz Mountains since 1946. Sixty-five years of experience makes it is possible to form general observations about the effectiveness of this silvicultural practice within a redwood forest environment. Increasing population and urban sprawl have created pressures on redwood forestlands in California, and particularly on the Central Coast. Tensions resulting from population increases and ongoing urban encroachment into forestlands in the Santa Cruz Mountains have increased over time. This has created significant logistical and socio-political challenges for the local forest products industry. Not surprisingly, these challenges are now beginning to be seen elsewhere in the redwood region. Selection harvesting can provide positive benefits, particularly adjacent to densely populated areas. These benefits include providing local, sustainable products for local consumers, supporting working forestlands that provide a buffer against the pressures of land conversion and urban sprawl, as well as being a mechanism for maintaining complex redwood forest ecosystems.

Parent Publication

• Proceedings of the coast redwood forests in a changing California: A symposium for scientists and managers

Citation

Berlage, Bob; et al. 2012. Observations about the effectiveness of utilizing single tree selection silviculture in redwood forestlands. In: Standiford, Richard B.; Weller, Theodore J.; Piirto, Douglas D.; Stuart, John D., tech. coords. Proceedings of coast redwood forests in a changing California: A symposium for scientists and managers. Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-238. Albany, CA: Pacific Southwest Research Station, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture. pp. 585-591.