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The Development of Silvicultural Guidelines for Creating Mixed Forests

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Dynamics, Silviculture and Management of Mixed Forests

Part of the book series: Managing Forest Ecosystems ((MAFE,volume 31))

Abstract

Recent decades have seen an increase in research interest in mixed forests and greater policy support for measures designed to develop mixed-species stands. However, reports from a range of European countries show many practical difficulties which are hampering the successful implementation of mixed forest management. This is reflected in a widespread lack of guidance to help managers tackle the complicated silviculture of mixed forests. We present case studies from four different countries in Europe which illustrate different aspects of the management of mixed forests. These showed that successful introduction of a range of species depended upon a favourable light climate for the young seedlings and adequate control of browsing animals. The establishment of a mixed stand might take several decades and could require careful tending during the early years. Forest development types (FDTs) have been used in a few countries as a means of defining future stand development goals, and this concept provides a structured mechanism for developing silvicultural guidance for mixed stands. FDTs can be linked to information about the impacts of projected climate change to provide a framework for implementing a site-specific and adaptive silviculture that promotes mixed forests to deliver a range of benefits over time.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to all members of the EuMIXFOR COST Action (FP1206) on Mixed Forests whose insights have contributed to the development of the ideas presented in this chapter.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Forest Research, Northern Research Station, Roslin, Midlothian, Scotland, UK

    W. L. Mason

  2. Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Alnarp, Sweden

    M. Löf

  3. Department of Silviculture, Institute of Forest Ecology and Silviculture, Faculty of Forestry, University of Agriculture in Krakow, Krakow, Poland

    M. Pach

  4. Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development, Eberswalde, Germany

    P. Spathelf

Authors
  1. W. L. Mason
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  2. M. Löf
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  3. M. Pach
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  4. P. Spathelf
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to W. L. Mason .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biogeography and Global Change, National Museum of Natural Sciences (MNCN-CSIC), Madrid, Spain

    Andrés Bravo-Oviedo

  2. Center of Life and Food Sciences Weihenstephan, Technical University of Munich, Freising, Germany

    Hans Pretzsch

  3. Department of Silviculture and Forest Management (INIA-CIFOR) & iuFOR – Sustainable Forest Management Research Institute, University of Valladolid & INIA, Madrid, Spain

    Miren del Río

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Mason, W.L., Löf, M., Pach, M., Spathelf, P. (2018). The Development of Silvicultural Guidelines for Creating Mixed Forests. In: Bravo-Oviedo, A., Pretzsch, H., del Río, M. (eds) Dynamics, Silviculture and Management of Mixed Forests. Managing Forest Ecosystems, vol 31. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91953-9_7

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