Models of Silviculture for Portuguese Species: Old and New Guidelines

Abstract

Models of silviculture are used for the selection and scheduling of the silvicultural practices from installation to the end of the production cycle. Most of the published models of silviculture are for even aged stands. Those for mixed and uneven aged stands are scarce. The goal of this study was the development of models of silviculture for Portuguese species; with examples for Pinus pinea, Quercus suber Quercus rotundifolia, Pinus pinaster and Castanea sativa. Five stand structures were considered (pure even aged, mixed even aged, temporary mixed even aged, pure uneven aged and mixed uneven aged). For mixed stands were considered two species admixtures and for uneven aged 2, 3 and 4 cohorts. The local level models of silviculture developed in this study are conceptual frameworks where guidelines can be derived to define the model of silviculture for a stand, including target stand structure and production cycle, according to management goals, species and site. Overall, it was intended to stress the importance of defining models of silviculture that are flexible to accommodate a wide range of management options and that should be dynamic in space and time. These models cannot be used directly but have to be adapted to each stand.