Variable retention silvicultural systems have been proposed as
one approach for rapidly restoring micro-climate factors associated
with structurally complex forests (Kohn and Franklin, 1997). The
application of these systems requires decisions on the type, density,
and spatial pattern of the residual trees, which must be based
on an understanding of how the understory environment is affected
by different degrees of canopy retention (Van Pelt and
Franklin, 1999; Battaglia et al., 2002).