The foundations of modern management of uneven-aged mountain forests

Poznanski R. 2010. Podstawy nowoczesnych zasad gospodarowania w roznowiekowych lasach gorskich. Sylwan 154 (9): 603-614. In uneven-aged forests, age does not apply to the whole stand but to individual trees. Therefore age of individual trees is rather represented by their thickness, and dbh distribution types become the measure of their age. The distinguished dbh distribution types show individual uneven-aged forest development phases: type A optimum phase, type B initial phase, type C future phase and type ageing phase. In the optimum uneven-aged forest development phase, 'prescribed cut according to silviculture needs' should he similar or equal to volume increment. In the initial development phase, such 'prescribed cut' should represent 60-80% of current volume increment, while in the future forest development phase, it should equal the current volume increment or exceed it by 20%. In the ageing forest development phase, 'prescribed cut according to silviculture needs' should he higher than the current volume increment by 10-30%. Selection-type forest management should be a model one for uneven-aged forests. Selection-type forests are close to the natural state and constitute a stable forest ecosystem with high resistance to biotic and abiotic factors and by reducing and dispersing the management risk they better fulfil their multiple functions.