REVIEW NOTES IN FOREST MANAGEMENT

Eduardo O. Mangaoang

I. INTRODUCTION

A. Definitions
1. Forest management
- application of business methods and technical forestry principles in the
operation of a forest property and the resources therein.
- application of business methods and technical forestry principles in the
establishment, development, maintenance and protection of forests and
forest resources.
- also refers to the study and application of analytical techniques used in
selecting management alternatives that can contribute to the attainment of
organizational objectives.

2. Forest - a tract of land dominated by trees and associated flora and fauna.

3. Forest resources - include the trees, non-timber plants, soil, water, wildlife,
and minerals.

B. History
- the practice of forest management started when man began to consciously
conserve and protect the forest for a particular purpose.
- in medieval Europe, for instance, forest reserves were protected as royal
hunting grounds.
> forest stands were also managed as source of timber for military and trade
purposes like shipbuilding and construction.
> it was in the early 16th century when foresters were commissioned to ensure
the production of high quality timber for such purposes.
- started measuring and recording growth increments of trees to construct
yield tables and estimate the long-term harvest of forest stands.
- the industrial revolution in the 18th and 19th centuries led to the massive
clearing of forests in Europe which required the establishment of forest
plantation to supply the increased demand for timber.
- Forest Science began to evolve with the application of scientific methods
in the management and utilization of both natural and plantation forests.

C. Importance of Forest Management

Forest management is important in the formulation and analysis of solutions to
problems in forest development and conservation that include:
1. depletion of or scarcity of forest resources
2. increased and unlimited demand for forest products and services
 3. constraints or peculiarities in forest production which include:
a. long gestation period of trees
b. dual nature of standing timber
c. immobility of forest resources
d. one-way flexibility of production and marketing
e. biological nature of forest production

D. Characteristics of forest as a resource

a. renewable
b. multi-productive

E. Basic concepts in forest management

1. Sustained Yield - refers to the management of forestland and resources on
a continuous basis. It could be attained by ensuring that harvests do not
exceed the capacity of the forest to regenerate.
2. Multiple Use - refers to the management of forestland and resources for
the production of an optimal mix of goods and services.

3. Sustainable Development - refers to the management of natural resources

to satisfy the needs of the present generation without compromising the
ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

F. Basic Principles
Forest management should promote the following basic principles:
1. sustainability - should ensure the availability of forest goods and services
over time.
2. productivity - should lead to increased production of forest goods and
services.
3. efficiency - should optimize the use of resources in producing goods and
providing services.
4. social equity - should lead to the equitable distribution of benefits to the
society.
5. social justice - should promote the rights of individual members of the
society.

G. Foundation of Forest Management

The foundation of forest management are the following:
1. forest organization
2. forest structure
3. forest growth and yield
4. forest valuation

II. Foundation of Forest Management

A. Forest Organization
- refers to the administrative mechanism by which forest policies and management
strategies are implemented.

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 - also refers to the physical and administrative structure and subdivision of the
forest. It may include following set up:
1. working circle - primary unit of forest land which require a separate
management plan
2. working group - forest subdivision based on silvicultural strategy.
3. block - subdivision is based on topography.
4. coupe - annual cutting area
5. compartment - smallest unit of subdivision

B. Forest Structure

1. What is forest structure?

- refers to the amount, composition, and distribution of growing stock in the forest
stand.

- also refers to the physical attributes of a forest stand.

2. Stand refers to spatially continuous group of trees and associated vegetation
having similar structure and growing under the same soil and climatic conditions.
- also refers to aggregation of trees occupying a specific area with a set of
homogenous characteristics which make it distinct from adjacent vegetation.

3. Types of stand
a. Based on age
Even-aged stand - composed of trees belonging to the same age-
class.
Uneven-aged - composed of trees belonging to different age-classes.

b. Based on species composition

Pure stand - composed of trees belonging to one group of species.
Mixed stand - composed of trees belonging to different groups of
species

4. What is a crown class?

- refers to the distribution of tree crowns in the forest canopy.

5. Types of crown classes

Dominant
Co-dominant
Intermediate
Suppressed/overtopped

6. Forest structure may be viewed in terms of vertical and horizontal stratification.

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 a. Vertical stratification - refers to the spatial distribution of tree crowns in the
forest canopy.
- One way to describe this structure is by crown class which refers to the
relative position of a tree crown in the canopy. It may be dominant, co-
dominant. intermediate. or suppressed.

b. Horizontal stratification - refers to the lateral or spatial distribution of trees

in the forest.
- It may be described in terms of stand stocking and density
Stand Stocking - a qualitative indicator of the distribution of trees in the
stand. The stand may be fully stocked, understocked. or overstocked.

Stand Density - a quantitative indicator of the distribution of trees in the

stand. It is measured by the following:
1. number of trees per hectare (NTH)

NTH = number of trees/total area (ha)

2. volume of trees per hectare (VTH)

VTH = total volume of trees/total area (ha)

3. basal area per hectare (BAH)

BAH = basal area per tree (BAT)/total area (ha)

Where: basal area per tree = 0.7854 d2

4. spacing - spatial distance between adjacent trees

Spacing = square root of (10,000/NTH)

C. Forest Growth and Yield

1. Forest growth - refers to the rate of change in the diameter, height, or
volume of trees and other resources in the forest.

2. Yield - is the accumulated growth.

- it is the volume or amount of forest products that may be present in a
given area at any given time.

3. Increment is the change in diameter. height, or volume.

4. Factors affecting stand growth

a. age
b. species
c. site quality
d. forest density
e. management strategy

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 5. Components of stand growth
a. accretion - increase due to normal development
b. ingrowth - increase due to regeneration
c. harvest - decrease due to utilization
d. mortality - decrease due to mortality and decay

6. Measures of stand growth

a. mean annual increment - the average growth of the stand over the
entire measurement period.
b. periodic annual increment - the average growth of the stand over a
given measurement period.
c. current annual increment - the growth attained for a given year.

7. Site quality - refers to the potential productivity or inherent productive

capacity of a given tract of land with regards to a particular species.
a. Factors affecting site quality
a.1 edaphic - soil type, texture, depth, pH, etc.
a.2 climatic - rainfall, temperature, relative humidity, solar radiation
a.3 physical - elevation, topography, aspect
a.4 biological - species diversity, pest, diseases

b. Measures of site quality

b.1 height characteristics
b.2 volume characteristics
b.3 soil characteristics
b.4 vegetative indicators

c. Methods of evaluating site quality

c.1 historical yield records - the average of previous / past harvests in
the area
c.2 current volume data - the average volume of the present forest
crops.
c.3 stand height data - the average height of a dominant group of
trees in the stand.
8. Site index - average height of the dominant and co-dominant trees at a
given base-age in even-aged stand.

D. Forest Valuation
1. What is forest valuation?
- the process of determining the financial and or economic worth of forest
resources
2. Stumpage - refers to standing merchantable trees in the stand/forest.
3. Stumpage valuation - refers to the process of determining the value of
standing mechantable trees in the stand/forest.

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 4. Stumpage value - the market value of the standing merchantable timber in
a given stand.

5. Factors affecting forest valuation

a. site quality
b. management strategy
c. market value of the product
d. cost of capital/ interest rate

6. Measures of forest value

a. net present value - the discounted value of the projected net revenue.

b. soil expectation value - the capitalized value of the projected infinite

series of net revenues from the land.

c. internal rate of return - the rate of increase of the projects benefits; rate
at which the present value of benefits is equal to the present value of
costs.

d. benefit-cost ratio - the ratio of the present value of revenues derived to

the present value of cost of production.

III. Forest Regulation

A. What is forest regulation?
- Forest regulation is the process of controlling forest production and harvest
from a given forest management unit to attain sustainability.
- it determines the what, where, when, and how much of producing and
harvesting forest resources.

B. What are the activities in forest regulation?

Growth and yield prediction and analysis

Rotation and cutting cycle determination
Allowable cut determination
Timber demand projection and analysis
Cut allocation and scheduling
Forest development scheduling and planning

C. Forest Growth and Yield Prediction and Analysis

- process of determining the amount of forest resources that may be available
in a given forest management unit at any given time in the future. The
methods used in predicting yield include:
1. Direct Methods - projections are based on the analysis of a particular stand
in terms of quantifiable variables such as diameter class, number of trees
per hectares, and growth rate.

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 a. Continuous Forest Inventory - projections are based on data gathered
from permanent sample plots.

b. Dendrochronological Studies - projections are based on stem analysis

of standing or felled trees.

c. Stand and Stock Table Projection - projections are based on the

analysis of current inventory data.

Stand table - table showing the number of trees by species per

diameter class.
Stock table - table showing the volume of trees by species per
diameter class.

2. Indirect Methods - growth projections are based on quantifiable stand

variables such as age, site index, and density. They involve the
development yield equation and generation of yield table.
a. yield equation - a mathematical formula used in predicting the future
volume of a given species of trees in given site/stand.
b. yield table - a table which shows the predicted yield of a given species
of trees in a given site/stand.

D. Rotation and Cutting Cycle Determination

1. Rotation and cutting cycle determination is the process of determining the
schedule of harvest in a given forest management unit.
Rotation is the number of years between establishment and harvest in
a given forest stand (even-aged)
Cutting cycle is the number of years between major harvesting
operations in a given forest management unit (uneven-aged).
2. Factors affecting the length of rotation / cutting cycle
a. species
b. site quality
c. product size
d. investment / management cost
e. interest rate
f. accessibility

3. Criteria used in determining the schedule of harvest

a. mean annual increment - the total yield per hectare divided by the age
of the stand
b. money yield table - the expected gross revenue per year, it is
determined by multiplying the projected yield per year by the market
price.
c. forest rent - the average net revenue per year. It is determined by
dividing the net revenue by the age of the stand.
d. net present value - the discounted net revenue of the stand at a given
stand age

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 e. soil expectation value - the capitalized net revenue from the land at a
given stand age.
f. internal rate of return - the rate of return of the stand at a given age.

4. Kinds of rotation

a. financial
b. economic
c. technical
d. silvicultural
e. pathological/entomological

E. Allowable Cut Determination

1. What is allowable cut determination?
- process of defining the most sustainable cut from a given forest management
unit.
- Allowable cut is the amount of forest products that may be harvested from a
given forest management unit.
It also refers to the volume of forest products authorized under a permit
or license to be cut from a given forest area.

2. Methods of Computing Allowable Cut

a. Volume control - the volume of harvest is based on the volume and
distribution of growing stock.
o It includes the classical allowable cut formulas such as Von
Mantel, Meyer, Hundeshagen. Austrian, Hanzlik, Blackhill, and
Kemp, among others.
b. Area control - the volume of harvest is based on the volume of growing
stock available in the area allocated for harvesting.

3. The Philippine Allowable Cut Formula

a. The Philippine allowable cut formula for the residual forest is
implemented through DAO #12 S - 1992
AAC = ACA x Vr x f
Ar
ACA = -----
Cc

where;
AAC = annual allowable cut in cubic meters
ACA = annual cutting area in hectares
Ar = total area of operable second growth forest which excludes areas
above 1,000 meters in elevation, 50% slope and above, watershed
and wildlife reserves, in hectares.
Vr = harvestable volume in cubic meters per hectare in the operable
second growth forest to be determined by the following equation:
Vr = 50% (60cm) + 100% (70 cm and above)

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 f = reduction factor to compensate for logging inefficiency, internal
defects. and to allow for deficiency in attaining a satisfactory
residual stand, 0.70
cc = cutting cycle 35 years

Multiple - use forest management - management of forest ecosystem to provide an

optimal mix of goods and services on a sustained basis through the application of
efficient management strategies within the bounds of resources, environmental,
economic and technological constraints so as to maintain resources productivity
and favorable environmental quality and at the same time satisfy level of amenities
to society through time
Theory of Multiple Use Forestry
1. Two or more land use types in an area simultaneously undertaken during a specified
period of time
2. Attainment of appropriate level of products and services mix and land resource
allocation as dictated by socio-economic, environmental, biological and technological
considerations.

Concepts of Multiple Use Forestry

1. Pearson's Concept
specialization of a land use in an area best suited or adopted to it
concept limits the use of each portion of land / management unit to a single land
use
does not show conformity to the conditions that there should be more than two
land uses in an area in every time
2. Dana - Mc Ardles Concept
State that there should be several compatible land use types in an area at any
time frame with consideration on relevant factors pertaining to the management of
forest resources
Primary land use - involves assignment of one dominant land -use in an area and
integrating compatible secondary land use types with the secondary one

Conditions for integration

1. Secondary uses must cater to the realization of full capabilities of the area to attain
objectives relative to the dominant use
2. Management system for secondary uses must not be overdone to prevent the
secondary uses from taking the position of the primary use
3. Secondary uses must be compatible

Application of Primary Land use

1. When infrastructure establishments are existing e.g. hydroelectric dam and
watershed, dam for irrigation, etc.
2. In areas covered by laws, regulations and other legislations defining their appropriate
end use e.g. Palaan, Isabela as wilderness area. Makiling forest as an area for
research and education

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 Primary use is considered on these areas because the people, through the
government had already spent sizeable amount of money for the construction of
infrastructure
On areas covered by legislation, policy makers realized that certain areas should
be preserved for future developments or for ecological purposes
Non- priority land use - all land use types are of the same priority or rank
Forest lands managed under this scheme shall be managed for the utilization
of the several forest resources in an optimal combination to produce various
goods and services needed by the society
does not mean equality of product quantity or quality in terms of monetary
values of products or services but imply the satisfaction of the various demand
levels for goods and services

Application of Balanced Land use

1. considered for areas not covered by any developmental programs of dominant use
2. should be done on areas not covered by any developmental programs earmarked for
development.

Points Considered in the Application

1. There is a need for various resources in the management unit
2. There is no law or legislation designating the use of the area
3. The land-use types are managed at a certain degree of compatibility and no land use
type is favored over the land uses
4. Integrated management system adopted in the balanced use should consider the
forest resources as independent and related to each other
Weaknesses of Pearson's Concept
1. Ignores the productive potential of the area
forest land is capable of providing other forms of products and services
and this capability should be recognized and that utilization and
management treatments should not be limited to a single product but to all
forest resources
2. Does not work toward forest resources in an indirect way
proper utilization of forest resources is an indirect indicator of forest
conservation
3. Requires simple management system w/c may not be challenging enough to
forest managers
4. Requires a large area to be able to produce so many forest goods and
services
Weaknesses of Dana - Mc Ardle's Concept
1. Requires ample data and information on the degree of compatibility of various
land use types, more research work
2. Forest ecosystem is complex and diverse, requiring much time to understand
and comprehend.

Forest resources - defined by socio-economic, cultural and technological stage of the

society, includes both physical forest products and intangible forest services

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Forest Land capability assessment - Process of establishing the productive potentials
of the forestland and evaluating them to come up with an array of acceptable
degree of land productivity relative to all possible products and services that
maybe raised
includes surveys of the soil, vegetation, atmosphere; analysis of site factor
impacts to resource production possibilities
Zoning - compartmentalization of a forestland segregating areas at unique characteristics
from the other areas

F. Forest Products Demand Projection

The process of predicting the future demand for a given forest product.
1. Steps involved in demand projection
a. Identification of the object of forecast - involves the specification of the
type of product whose demand is to be projected. example: lumber,
plywood
b. Determination of the period of forecast - set the length of time within
which the demand forecast is to be done.
c. Selection of the method of forecast - choose the suitable method
demand projection based on the level of accuracy required. available
resources. and the type of product to be studied.
d. Data collection - gathering of actual demand data.
e. Actual forecasting - projection of the future demand using the method
selected and the demand data collected.
2. Methods used in demand forecasting
a. Judgmental forecasting - based on subjective opinions of experts.
a.1 Subjective Probability Assessment Method - the forecast is made
by an expert as to the chance by which a particular demand will
occur, It involves the assessment of subjective probabilities by
identifying a set of discrete or continuous demand data.
a.2 Program Evaluation and Review Technique - the forecast is
based on the weighted average of the estimated most likely,
pessimistic and optimistic demand values.
a.3 Delphi Approach - the forecast is based on the median of the
independent estimates of several experts.
b. Causal forecasting - based on the relationship that exists between
demand for a given forest product and the factors affecting it. A
regression equation is used to describe the relationship and forecast
the future demand.
c. Time series forecasting - the forecast is based on the assumption that
the occurrence of future events is a function of time and its element
which include trends, cycle and periods.

G. Cut Allocation and Scheduling

The process of determining the amount of forest products to be harvested, its
schedule and location of harvest, it includes the following activities:
1. Estimation of the actual yield of the forest

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 2. Identification the specific product to be harvested
3. Determination of the schedule of harvest
4. Selection of the location of harvest
F. Forest Development Scheduling and planning
The process of identifying and planning of forest development activities
designed to optimize production of forest products relative to the demand.
They include area modification, site improvement, species replacement, timber
stand improvement, stand density control, and rescheduling of harvesting
operations.

V. Integrated Forest Resource Management Planning

Forest resource management planning is the process by which forest
development and conservation strategies are formulated into a logical system of
activities to attain a certain set of objectives under a given set of physical,
ecological, social, economic, financial and technical constraints and opportunities.
A. Steps involved in forest resource management planning
1. Site assessment and appraisal - involves the assessment of the
biophysical and socio-economic condition in the area under consideration.
a. Reconnaissance survey - gathering of information on the overall
biophysical and socio-economic conditions in the area by ocular
observation and informal interaction with the local community.
b. Bio-physical assessment and inventory - involves the determination of
the qualitative and quantitative conditions of the biological and physical
resources in the area such as land, timber, non-timber, water, wildlife
and other resources.
b.1 land capability survey - assessment of the edaphic, physical and
climatic characteristics of the area.
b.2 forest resources inventory - involves the identification and
determination of the type, quantity, quality, and distribution of
forest resources in the area.
c. Socio-economic surveys - involves the determination of the social,
political and economic conditions in the area through surveys,
interviews and community interactions.
2. Formulation of management goals and objectives - involves the
identification of the appropriate courses of action. It includes the following
steps:
a. Assessment of the situation
b. Identification of problem
c. Identification of the causes of the problem
d. Definition of the objectives to address the problem
e. establishment of the criteria to rank the objectives
3. Management strategy identification - involves the identification of the
strategies to be employed in producing goods and providing services.
The strategies may be classified into:
a Production strategies such as timber, non-timber, range and water
production

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 b. Protection and conservation strategies such as erosion, pest and
disease, fire control / protection
c. Utilization strategies such as harvesting systems
4. Management strategy analysis - involves the feasibility analysis of the
identified management strategies. The criteria used include;
a. Financial profitability - the project should have net profit
b. Economic viability - the project should improve the economic well being
of the local community as well as the society in general
c. Social acceptability - the project must conform with the needs and
aspiration of the local community.
d. Ecological soundness - the project must contribute to the protection of
the environment and the conservation of biodiversity
e. Technical feasibility - the methodologies and procedures involved must
be efficient and effective
5. Management strategy implementation, monitoring and evaluation- involves
the actual implementation of the selected feasible strategies and their
subsequent monitoring and evaluation.
B. Sample Outline of a Forest Resource Management Plan
I. Introduction
A. Rationale
B. Scope and Limitations
II. Description of the Area
A. Physical
1. geographic location
2. topography
3. climate
4. soil
B. Ecological
1. flora
2. fauna
C. Socio - Economic
1. demographic profile
2. economic profile
III. Issues and Problems
IV. Goals and Objectives
V. Management Strategies
A. Production
B. Protection
C. Conservation
D. Utilization
VI. Feasibility Analyses
A. Financial / Economic
B. Social

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 C. Political
D. Ecological
F. Technical
VII. Implementation Strategies
VIII. Appendices
A. Maps
B. Tables
C. Figures / Charts

DEFINITION OF TERMS
Forest Management - the scientific application of business methods and technical
forestry principles to the operation of forest properly
Actual growing stock - the sum of all trees in a forest or in a specific part of it
Aeration - a process where air or oxygen is allowed to circulate through
Age classes - one of the intervals into which the range of ages of vegetation is divided
for classification and use
Amenities - the aesthetic, scenic, historical and other recreational values of the forest
Annual Net Increment of the stand - is the annual growth of the stand divided by the
age of the stand.
Age, rotation - the period at which the plantation is ready for harvest
Current Annual Volume Increment - is the amount of wood produced by stand of forest
in one year
Cutting cycle - planned interval between two major felling operations in same stand
Forest cover - refers to trees and woody plants in a forest
Forest growth - the result of an increment on the forest, the total sum of growth of all
trees in the forest
Forest land - a land bearing forest growth or land from which the forest had been
removed but which above evidence of past forest occupancy and which not new in
other use
Forest management plan - a blue print of managing of forest property answering the
basic questions of what, where, when how and for whom.
Increment borer - auger-like instruments with a hollow- bit used to extract cores from
trees for growth and age determination
Mean annual gross volume increment - the volume of present stand and the stand
under consideration divided by the age of the stand
Multiple - use - the protection, development and the management of all the resource
values of public forest in the combination that best contribute to the long term
socio-economic development
Non- operable area - those blocks or compartments where salable products can not be
obtained. These areas are inaccessible stands or depleted stands
Net growth - the amount of volume growth determined by subtracting the mortality from
the gross growth.

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Normal even-aged forest - even distribution of classes and represents a standard with
which to compare the actual forest to bring its efficiency for sustained yield
management
Operable area - those blocks or compartments or units that can be cut or thinned or
otherwise treated so as to yield.
Productive benefits - it is based on the form of forest products such as timber, wildlife
and minor forest products which in turn gives rise to host of products vital to man
Protective benefits - they help minimize the occurrence of floods and droughts, erosions
and related calamities
Site - sum total of all factors e.g. edaphic, meteorological, biological, ecological,
physiographic and environmental that affects plants growth
Forest - composed of several stands of trees
Stand - composed of several trees
Site quality - inherent capacity of an area to produce a given forest resource
Even- aged stand - trees which have the same age
Uneven - aged - trees have different ages and sizes
Pure stand - stand of trees of same species
Mixed stand - stand of trees of different species
High forest - forest developed from seeds and seedlings
Overmature trees - trees which have attained a decreasing growth or has ceased growth
and has started to decay
Allowable cut - the quantity of forest resource authorized to be harvested or cut at a
given period of time
Forestry - the science and art of developing, managing and conserving forest goods and
services
Timber management plan - blue print of courses of action adapted for a management of
timber resource in a forest property
Sustained yield management - principle of managing forest resources which requires
that periodic resource drain should be equal to periodic resource growth through a
longer period of time
Normal Forest - is an ideal forest that is said to be managed and yielding a normal
growth. This is used as a standard in the management of a forest property
Yield - actual change in volume of forest products
Stocking - stand density in volume of forest products
Yeal - and acronym which means “Years Elapse After Logging”
Simulation - the modeling of a real world problem in an unreal world
Site index - both applicable to even aged and uneven aged stands which provides that
the age of trees can be determined.
Stand density - the ratio of the actual basal area of stand at periodic intervals covering a
great part of useful life
Stand table - a summary table using number of trees by species by diameter class for
any given area

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