Protection and production of more diverse forest values
demands consideration of the fine-scale variability found within forest stands and an understanding of the spatial and
temporal response of forest ecosystems to manipulation. Studies of gap dynamics have contributed significantly to our
understanding of the role of small-scale disturbance in forest ecosystems, but have been used little by foresters for predicting
ecosystem response to partial cutting. We review the gap dynamics literature paying special attention to papers that use gap
size or position as predictive variables for responses indicative of silvicultural success or maintenance of ecosystem function.
Like canopy gaps created by natural tree death or windthrow, gaps are also generated by silvicultural systems which remove
dominant trees. Results from the Date Creek silvicultural systems study in northwestern British Columbia presented here
demonstrate the utility of a gap-based approach for understanding ecosystem responses to tree cutting. We propose a
gap-based approach for study of stand response to silvicultural manipulation that: (1) aids development of cutting
prescriptions that maintain functional mature or old-growth conditions; (2) refines and extends our understanding of how
biological structures, organisms and ecosystem processes are affected by fine-scale variation within stands: and (3) leads to
development of novel silvicultural systems that meet timber production objectives without compromising ecosystem
management principles. 0 1997 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.