ABSTRACT
The previous two chapters have covered aspects of managing forests within the context of natural ecosystems. While a large proportion of wood production will continue to be provided by such forests, in many countries, such as Chile and New Zealand, it is plantations that are expected increasingly to supply significant volumes. These plantations may be of native species, possibly of superior genetic origin, planted as monocultures in order to boost production, or they may be of tree species not native to the country but suited to the climate and growing conditions. Intensive silvicultural practices to hasten regrowth after logging and to boost productivity may use plantation techniques dealt with in the previous chapter. In this chapter, the larger-scale and generally non-native varieties of plantation will be considered.
