Recommendations for Ecologically Sustainable Forestry in the UP (Summary:)
By Greg Kudray and the Upper Peninsula Environmental Coalition Forestry Committee
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Maintaining a sustainable ecosystem in the UP is a goal we all share. Yet most forestland in the UP is managed for timber production, sometimes as the only goal but often with some acknowledgment of other values.
Timber harvesting can have extremely negative impacts on nearly all ecosystem components. Since timber production will go on in most areas, we need to find ways to shape timber management to maintain ecosystem sustainability over time. The following recommendations address only smaller scale stand-level management, without involving other larger scale issues in ecosystem management.
HARVESTING METHODS
Silvicultural practices should mimic natural disturbance patterns to sustain biodiversity.
Some amount of habitat trees should be left to decay and die naturally. Several should be left per acre. Permanently marking these trees to ensure their persistence through several rotations is desirable.
Conifers (with the exception of the more common balsam fir) are disappearing in many upland northern hardwood stands. Existing trees should be conserved or their regeneration encouraged. Sometimes silvicultural methods that create openings larger than a single treefall are beneficial.
Whole tree harvesting is not compatible with sustainable ecosystem management.
Clearcuts do not mimic natural processes. Leaving standing habitat trees singly and in groups will help protect ecosystem values.
Clearcutting in ecosystems that naturally succeed to an uneven aged stand compromises other ecosystem values.
Other species need to be actively encouraged in clearcuts through the retention of trees, partial cutting, planting, or mineral soil exposure.
Existing plantations should be allowed to succeed to natural mixed stands or interplanted with a variety of species to increase biodiversity. Natural regeneration or mixed species plantings are preferable to single species plantations.
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| Legend: | |
| darker green = hardwoods | lighter green = aspen |
| red = conifers | orange = farmland, grassland |
| white = disturbed areas | blue = water |
| Data Source: Landsat cover derived from interpreted 1991 Landsat Thematic Mapper imagery. Data provided by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) Wildlife Division. Map provided by The School of Forestry and Wood Products Ecological Mapping Lab. | |
OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
Susceptible wetland areas within timber harvest areas should be clearly marked off limits with at least an additional 100 feet buffer zone extending from each side of a stream or wetland. Water quality management practices on forest land (Mi. DNR 1994) should be followed to protect water quality.
Limited and temporary road networks are preferable. Roads often need to be revegetated after use, especially in areas with fine-textured soils or steep slopes. Native plant seed is increasingly available and should be used if possible.
Silvicultural actions should not be prescribed without an understanding of the soil on the site. Best management practices need to be developed for soil types.
Ecosystem classification and mapping are well advanced in our area and need to be more widely applied.
Wildfire should be recognized as an important natural process. Prescribed burning is a valuable management tool in feasible areas.
Since excessive deer populations have detrimental effects on tree regeneration and herbaceous species survival, forest practices that favor deer habitat should be discouraged in areas where deer numbers are already too high.
Some ecosystems have high ecological value or are very sensitive to disruption through timber management. Species-rich forested wetlands (cedar or mixed species) on organic soils are a good example.
Sustainable forest management requires a thorough understanding of the ecological elements of the site, their limitations and capabilities. This includes, among other things, the site's unique soil, hydrology, stand history, natural disturbance pattern, and how these elements are integrated in the whole ecosystem.
A good starting point is to establish an appropriate desired future condition that recognizes how and why these ecosystems evolved. Management actions can then be taken that (hopefully) will ensure future sustainability for all life that depends on this ecosystem.