Research, part of a Special Feature on Sustainability Impact Assessment of Forest Management Alternatives in Europe
Classification of Forest Management Approaches: A New Conceptual
Framework and Its Applicability to European Forestry
Philipp S. Duncker 1
, Susana M. Barreiro 2
, Geerten M. Hengeveld 3
, Torgny Lind 4
, William L. Mason 5
, Slawomir Ambrozy 6
and Heinrich Spiecker 1
ABSTRACT. The choice between different forest management practices is a crucial step in short, medium, and long-term
decision making in forestry and when setting up measures to support a regional or national forest policy. Some conditions such
as biogeographically determined site factors, exposure to major disturbances, and societal demands are predetermined, whereas
operational processes such as species selection, site preparation, planting, tending, or thinning can be altered by management.
In principle, the concept of a forest management approach provides a framework for decision making, including a range of
silvicultural operations that influence the development of a stand or group of trees over time. These operations vary among
silvicultural systems and can be formulated as a set of basic principles. Consequently, forest management approaches are
essentially defined by coherent sets of forest operation processes at a stand level.