Forestry

Forestry is the art, science, and practice of studying and managing forests and plantations, and related natural resources. Silviculture, a related science, involves the growing and tending of trees and forests. Modern forestry generally concerns itself with assisting forests to provide timber as raw material for wood products; wildlife habitat; natural water quality regulation; recreation; landscape and community protection; employment; aesthetically appealing landscapes; and a 'sink' for atmospheric carbon dioxide. A practitioner of forestry is known as a forester.

History

In the Western world, formal forestry practices developed during the Middle Ages, when land was largely under the control of kings and barons. Control of the land included hunting rights, and though peasants in many places were permitted to gather firewood and building timber and to graze animals, hunting rights were retained by the nobility. Systematic management of forests for a sustainable yield of timber is said to have begun in the German states in the 16th century, and probably somewhat earlier in Japan. Typically, a forest was divided into specific sections and mapped; the harvest of timber was planned with an eye to regeneration.

Related Topics:
Middle Ages - King - Baron - German - Japan

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The enactment and evolution of forestry laws and binding regulations occurred in most Western nations in the 20th century in response to growing conservationist social ideals and the increasing technological capacity of logging companies.

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Tropical forestry is a separate branch of forestry which deals mainly with equatorial forests that yield woods such as teak and mahogany. Sir Dietrich Brandis is considered the father of tropical forestry.

Related Topics:
Teak - Mahogany - Sir Dietrich Brandis

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