Silviculture
Introduction:
Silviculture pertains to the raising, development, care, reproduction and overall management of forest crops.
Definition:
If has been defned variously as follows:
By Toumey and Korstain:
Silviculture is that branch of forestry which deals with the establishment, development, care
and reproduction of stands of timber.
By Champion and Seth:
The terms silviculture, in English refers only to certain aspects of the theory and practices of
raising of forests crops.
By Iffprt (IFR Dehradun)
The art and science of cultivated forests crops. On the other hands, silvics is the study of
trees and forests and biological entities, the laws of their growth and development, and
impact of environment on them. Thus, silviculture can be described to include all practical
and theoretical aspects of silvics.
Objects of Silviculture:
Study of silviculture helps to attain the following object:
1. To derive environmental benefits: Soil and water conservation, control of air and noise pollution, wild life conservation, regulation of climatic condition, regulation of water cycle.
2. Raising species of more economic value: Industrial and economic growth through.
3. Production of high-quality timer: Silviculture techniques help of avoid the problem of crooked, malformed, disease or defective timber and thus help to produce goods quality timber.
4. Production of more volume per unit area: Unmanaged forests may be too dense or too open, less production, premature death of trees silviculture helps to solve these problems.
5. Reduction of rotation period: In Unmanaged forests the rotation tends to be longer.
6. Afforestation of blank areas: Waste lands can be used for forests
7. Creation of plantation: Man made forests or plantations may be created in placed of natural forests.
8. Introduction of exotics: Successful introduction of exotic species is possible.
9. Employment potential: In any plantation operation, the labour component account for 60 to 70% of the total financial input.
10. Increase in the production of fuel and fodder: In development countries like India it is important aspect.
Forest Industries:
Resin for resin and turpentine industry, pulp wood for paper industry, industrial wood for match and timber industry, railway, etc, minor forests product based industries.
Foundation of Silviculture
The closest foundation of silviculture in the natural sciences is the silvics. It deals with the principles underlying the growth and development of single tree and of the forest as a biological unit. It can be defned in the following ways:
1. The study of life history and general characteristics of forest trees and crops, with particular reference to environment factors, as the basis for the practice of silviculture.
2. The study of requirements and the processes of tree growth and the environment under which it takes place is called silvics. Stodard and Stodard (1987)
Therefore, intelligent management of the forest must depend upon a solid foundation of knowledge of silvical processes.The practice of silviculture is related to the social as well as the biological aspects of forestry. It is regarded as the crown of the forestry. It helps in achieving the fve F’s. Viz,
1. Food / Fruit
2. Fodder
3. Fuel Wood
4. Fibre
5. Fertilizer
These are immediate (primary) needs of the society particularly in the rural areas. In
addition to these primary needs, some other needs, which are called secondary need,
are also fulflled by silviculture. Following are the secondary needs:
1. Nitrogen Fixation
2. Soil Conservation
3. Mulch Farming
4. Windbreaks and Shelterbelts
5. Commercial Timber, etc
Therefore, study of silviculture is very important now days. In actual sense, it is the base of forestry.It has good relations with various branches of forestry.
