A decidous beech forest in Slovenia.

Forestry is the art, science, and practice of studying and managing forests and plantations, and related natural resources. Silviculture, a related science, involves the growing and tending of trees and forests. Modern forestry generally concerns itself with assisting forests to provide timber as raw material for wood products; wildlife habitat; natural water quality regulation; recreation; landscape and community protection; employment; aesthetically appealing landscapes; and a 'sink' for atmospheric carbon dioxide. A practitioner of forestry is known as a forester. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... A dense growth of softwoods (a forest) in the Sierra Nevada Range of Northern California A forest is an area with a high density of trees (or, historically, an area set aside for hunting). ... Forestry plantations A plantation of Douglas-fir in Washington, USA; note the trees of uniform size and planted in straight lines, and the lack of diversity in the ground flora In forestry, plantations of trees are typically grown as an even-aged monoculture for timber production, as opposed to a... // Definition Silviculture is the art and science of controlling the establishment, growth, composition, health, and quality of forests to meet diverse needs and values of landowners and society on a sustainable basis. ... Timber Timber is a term used to describe wood throughout its processing from the time it is planned for use in industrial products to the time it is used as a structural material or in other industrial product, such as wood pulp for paper production. ... A tree trunk as found at the Veluwe, The Netherlands Wood is an organic material found as the primary content of the stems of woody plants, especially trees, but also shrubs. ... Various species of deer are commonly seen wildlife across the Americas and Eurasia. ... Water (from the Old English word wæter; c. ... Tigers playing in the water Girl playing on tyre swing Adults enjoying the day. ... The Harvesters, by Pieter Brueghel the Elder, 1565: Peace and agriculture in a pre-Romantic ideal landscape, without sublime terrors The word landscape as most westerners use it is completely entrenched in western notions of land, nature and art. ... Atmosphere may refer to: a celestial body atmosphere, e. ... Carbon dioxide is an atmospheric gas composed of one carbon and two oxygen atoms. ...

Forests have come to be seen as one of the most important components of the biosphere, and foresty has emerged as a vital field of science, applied art, and technology. The biosphere is that part of a planets outer shell—including air, land, and water—within which life occurs, and which biotic processes in turn alter or transform. ...

What foresters do

Foresters may be employed by industry, government agencies, conservation groups, urban parks boards, citizens' associations, or private landowners. Historically, foresters have been predominantly involved in planning the harvest of timber and the regeneration of new trees.

Typically, professional foresters develop "forest management plans". These plans rely on tree inventories showing an area's topographical features as well as its distribution of trees (by species) and other plant cover. They also include roads, culverts, proximity to human habitation, hydrological conditions, and soil reports. Finally, forest management plans include the projected use of the land and a timetable for that use. Surface of the Earth Topography, a term in geography, has come to refer to the lay of the land, or the physiogeographic characteristics of land in terms of elevation, slope, and orientation. ... In biology, a species is, loosely speaking, a group of related organisms that share a more or less distinctive form and are capable of interbreeding. ... Water covers 70% of the Earths surface. ...

Plans for harvest and subsequent site treatment are influenced by the objectives of the land's owner or leaseholder (for instance, a timber company that holds cutting rights to a given tract of land, or the government in the case of state-owned forests). There is an increasing trend to consider the needs of other stakeholders (e.g., nearby communities or neighborhoods, or rural residents living within or adjacent to the forest tract), through public consultation. Plans are developed with the prevailing forest harvest laws and regulations in mind. They ultimately result in a prescription for the harvest of trees, and indicate whether road building or other forest engineering operations are required. This article is about gathering crops. ...

Traditional forest management plans are chiefly aimed at providing logs as raw material for timber, veneer, plywood, paper, or other industries. Hence, considerations of product quality and quantity, employment, and profit have been of central, though not always exclusive, importance. Timber Timber is a term used to describe wood throughout its processing from the time it is planned for use in industrial products to the time it is used as a structural material or in other industrial product, such as wood pulp for paper production. ... A veneer is a thin covering over something. ... Plywood was the first type of engineered wood to be invented. ... Piece of paper Paper is a thin, flat material produced by the compression of fibres. ...

Foresters also frequently develop post-harvest site plans. These may call for reforestation (tree planting by species), fertilization, or the spacing of young trees (thinning of trees that are crowding one another). Biodiversity on a 15-year-old reforested block Reforestation is the process of restoring tree cover to areas where woodlands or forest once existed but was removed by logging for wood products; if this area never returns to its original state of a forest this destructive process is called deforestation. ... In biology, a species is, loosely speaking, a group of related organisms that share a more or less distinctive form and are capable of interbreeding. ... Categories: Biology stubs ...

Other duties of foresters include preventing and combatting insect infestation, disease, forest and grassland fires. Foresters are specialists in measuring and modelling the growth of forests (forest mensuration). Increasingly, foresters may be involved in wildlife conservation planning. Conservationists are those people who tend to more highly rank the wise use of the Earths resources and ecosystems. ...

History

In the Western world, formal forestry practices developed during the Middle Ages, when land was largely under the control of kings and barons. Control of the land included hunting rights, and though peasants in many places were permitted to gather firewood and building timber and to graze animals, hunting rights were retained by the nobility. Systematic management of forests for a sustainable yield of timber is said to have begun in the German states in the 16th century, and probably somewhat earlier in Japan. Typically, a forest was divided into specific sections and mapped; the harvest of timber was planned with an eye to regeneration. The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... A monarch is a type of ruler or head of state, whos titles and ascention are inherited, not earned, and represents a larger monarchical system which has established rules and customs regarding succession, duties, and powers. ... Baron is a specific title of nobility or a more generic feudal qualification. ...

The enactment and evolution of forestry laws and binding regulations occurred in most Western nations in the 20th century in response to growing conservationist social ideals and the increasing technological capacity of logging companies. For another article about a different type of logging, see data logging. ...

Tropical forestry is a separate branch of forestry which deals mainly with equatorial forests that yield woods such as teak and mahogany. Sir Dietrich Brandis is considered the father of tropical forestry. Species Tectona grandis Tectona hamiltoniana Tectona philippinensis Teak (Tectona) is a genus of tropical hardwood trees in the family Verbenaceae, native to the south and southeast of Asia, and is commonly found as a component of monsoon forest vegetation. ... Genera and Species Entandophragma - Utile or African Mahogany Guarea - Pink Mahogany Khaya - Ivory Coast Mahogany - Senegal Mahogany Swietenia - Honduras Mahogany - West Indian Mahogany Toona - Indian Mahogany - Chinese Mahogany The name Mahogany was first used in the New World for two trees of the genus Swietenia, namely (West Indian Mahogany) from... 1824-1907 Sir Dietrich Brandis is considered the father of tropical forestry. ...

Forestry today

Today a strong body of research exists regarding the managing of forest ecosystems, selection of species and varieties, and tree breeding. Forestry also includes the development of better methods for the planting, protecting, thinning, controlled burning, felling, extracting, and processing of timber. One of the applications of modern forestry is reforestation, in which trees are planted and tended in a given area. The application of genetic principles to the genetic improvement and management of forest trees. ... Igniting a controlled burn. ... Biodiversity on a 15-year-old reforested block Reforestation is the process of restoring tree cover to areas where woodlands or forest once existed but was removed by logging for wood products; if this area never returns to its original state of a forest this destructive process is called deforestation. ...

In many regions the forest industry is of major ecological, economic, and social importance. Third-party certification systems that provide independent verification of sound forest stewardship and sustainable forestry have become commonplace in many areas since the 1990s.

In topographically severe forested terrain, proper forestry is important for the prevention or minimization of serious soil erosion or even landsliding. In areas with a high potential for landsliding, good forestry can act to prevent property damage or loss, human injury, or loss of life. Look up Erosion in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Severe soil erosion in a wheat field near Washington State University, USA. Erosion is the displacement of solids (soil, mud, rock, and so forth) by the agents of wind, water, ice, movement in response to gravity, or living organisms (in the case... This entry refers to the geological term landslide. ...

Deforestation, a net deficit in the area covered by forest over time, results from the sustained removal of trees without sufficient reforestation. It can be deliberate, as when land is cleared for farming, grazing, or human habitation, or unintentional, particularly where uncontrolled grazing prevents natural regrowth of young trees. Closely related to deforestation is cumulative loss of habitat and water quality caused by the conversion of complex natural forests into plantations. Although the total area covered by forest may not change, the provision of ecosystem services often declines over time, even with the application of modern forestry techniques. Deforestation is the conversion of forested areas to non-forest. ... Forestry plantations A plantation of Douglas-fir in Washington, USA; note the trees of uniform size and planted in straight lines, and the lack of diversity in the ground flora In forestry, plantations of trees are typically grown as an even-aged monoculture for timber production, as opposed to a...

A division has arisen in recent years between advocates and opponents of active forest management, as growing concerns about environmental problems arising from massive deforestation (especially in the equatorial rainforests) have highlighted forestry as an issue for serious environmentalist concern. In some cases deforestation is the result of a lack of forestry, particularly in areas subject to overgrazing by livestock. In other cases it is a result, at least partly, of 'bad' logging practices. The single largest cause of deforestation is land conversion. The main contributors to land conversion are urbanization and agriculture practices. Deforestation is the conversion of forested areas to non-forest. ... Rainforest on Fatu-Hiva, Marquesas Islands A rainforest is a forested biome with high annual rainfall due to the Intertropical convergence zone. ... Environmentalism is the support or involvement with the environmental movement by environmentalists. ... Sheep are commonly bred as livestock. ...

Forestry education

The first dedicated forestry school was established by Georg Hartig at Dillenburg in Germany in 1787, though forestry had been taught much earlier in central Europe. The first in North America was established near Asheville, North Carolina, by George Vanderbilt after he saw the devastation logging had caused in the area. The grounds of his Biltmore Estate are almost entirely managed forest, which has grown from bare ground to mature trees since 1895. Early North American foresters went to Germany from the nineteenth century to study forestry. Some early German foresters also emigrated to North America. Georg Ludwig Hartig was a German agriculturist and was one of the first people to write about forestry He was born at Gladenbach, near Marburg, on the September 2, 1764 and died at Berlin on the February 2, 1887. ... Dillenburg (population ca 25,000) is a city in the German district of Lahn-Dill, in the federal state of Hessen. ... World map showing location of Europe Europe is geologically and geographically a peninsula, forming the westernmost part of Eurasia. ... World map showing location of North America A satellite composite image of North America North America is a continent in the northern hemisphere, bounded on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the south by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west... Downtown Asheville bustles with activity at midday while smog silently obscures the Smoky Mountains to the west. ... State nickname: Tar Heel State Other U.S. States Capital Raleigh Largest city Charlotte Governor Michael Easley (D) Official languages English Area 139,509 km² (28th)  - Land 126,256 km²  - Water 13,227 km² (9. ... George Washington Vanderbilt (1839-1864) was an American soldier and member of the prominent Vanderbilt family. ... For another article about a different type of logging, see data logging. ... Categories: Stub | Castles in America | Mansions | The Vanderbilts ... 1895 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...

Today, an acceptably trained forester must be educated in general biology, botany, genetics, soil science, climatology, hydrology, and economics. Education in the basics of sociology and political science is often considered an advantage. Main articles: Life All organisms (viruses not included) consist of cells, which in turn, are based on a common carbon-based biochemistry. ... Botany is the scientific study of plant life. ... Genetics (from the Greek genno γεννώ= give birth) is the science of genes, heredity, and the variation of organisms. ... Soil science deals with soil as a natural resource on the surface of the earth including soil formation, classification and mapping; physical, chemical, biological, and fertility properties of soils per se; and these properties in relation to the use and management of soils. ... Climatology is the science that studies climates and investigates their phenomena and causes. ... Water covers 70% of the Earths surface. ... Economics (from the Greek οίκος [oikos], house, and νέμω [nemo], rules, hence household management) is the social science that studies the production, distribution, trade and consumption of goods and services in the context of the competing alternative allocations of goods and courses of action. ... Social interactions of people and their consequences are the subject of sociology studies. ... Niccolò Machiavelli, ca 1500, became the key figure in realistic political theory, crucial to political science Political science is an academic and research discipline that deals with the theory and practice of politics and the description and analysis of political systems and political behavior. ...

An interesting scope of work opens up for foresters interested in international politics. Organizations such as the Forest Policy Education Network (FPEN) are dedicated to facilitate the way into forest politics and to exchange information on the subject.

Forestry Organizations

The International Forestry Students' Association is an association of forestry students worldwide. Their primary goal is to enrich forestry students´ formal education, especially in terms of a wider, more global perspective through extracurricular activities and the exchange of information and experience.

See also

• Aldo Leopold
• backpacking (wilderness)
• botany
• conservation biology
• ecological succession
• Gifford Pinchot
• list of forestry topics
• logging
• old growth forest
• paper
• park
• plants
• silviculture
• timber
• urban forestry

Aldo Leopold (January 11, 1887 - April 21, 1948) was a United States ecologist, forester, and environmentalist. ... Backpacking in Carpathian Mountains, Poland Backpacking (also tramping or trekking in some countries) is the complete combination of hiking and camping. ... Botany is the scientific study of plant life. ... Some conservation biologists have been concerned about the Amazon rainforest. ... Ecological succession, a fundamental concept in ecology, is the process by which a natural community moves from a simpler level of organisation to a more complex community. ... Gifford Pinchot (August 11, 1865 – October 4, 1946) was the first Chief of the United States Forest Service (1905-1910) and the Republican Governor of Pennsylvania (1923-1927, 1931-1935). ... This page has a list of forestry topics. ... For another article about a different type of logging, see data logging. ... Old growth forest, sometimes called late seral forest or ancient forest is an area of forest that has attained great age and exhibits unique biological features. ... Piece of paper Paper is a thin, flat material produced by the compression of fibres. ... An Australian park A park is any of a number of geographic features. ... Divisions Green algae land plants (embryophytes) non-vascular embryophytes Hepatophyta - liverworts Anthocerophyta - hornworts Bryophyta - mosses vascular plants (tracheophytes) seedless vascular plants Lycopodiophyta - clubmosses Equisetophyta - horsetails Pteridophyta - true ferns Psilotophyta - whisk ferns Ophioglossophyta - adderstongue ferns seed plants (spermatophytes) †Pteridospermatophyta - seed ferns Pinophyta - conifers Cycadophyta - cycads Ginkgophyta - ginkgo Gnetophyta - gnetae Magnoliophyta - flowering... // Definition Silviculture is the art and science of controlling the establishment, growth, composition, health, and quality of forests to meet diverse needs and values of landowners and society on a sustainable basis. ... Timber Timber is a term used to describe wood throughout its processing from the time it is planned for use in industrial products to the time it is used as a structural material or in other industrial product, such as wood pulp for paper production. ...

References

• Charles H. Stoddard Essentials of Forestry. New York: Ronald Press, 1978.
• G. Tyler Miller. Resource Conservation and Management. Belmont: Wadsworth Publishing, 1990.
• Chris Maser. Sustainable Forestry: Philosophy, Science, and Economics. DelRay Beach: St. Lucie Press, 1994.
• Hammish Kimmins. Balancing Act: Environmental Issues in Forestry. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 1992.
• Herb Hammond. Seeing the Forest Among the Trees. Winlaw/Vancouver: Polestar Press, 1991.
• "Forestry" in the Encyclopaedia Brtitannica 16th edition. New York: E.B., 1990.