Practical importance of transformation for the implementation of unevenaged management systems
1999
Schutz, J.P.
Transforming uniform or poorly structured stands into unevenaged, multi-layered stands of an unevenaged management system is one of the most demanding silvicultural objectives. The difficulty arises from the fact, that active interventions are necessary to counteract the natural tendency towards structural uniformity without a crown cover in order to assure the development of a locally and temporally highly diverse new generation. Experience from long term silvicultural practice indicates that transformation often results in twolayered stand structures. This primarily happens if the transformation process is initiated too late or if the interventions lead to a too uniform opening of crown cover. - Based on these findings, explicit management rules and priorities for an efficient transformation progress may be deduced. Basically, strategic decisions need to be separated from tactical measures for each situation individually, especially based on actual stand stability and current state of transformation. Depending on the appreciation of stand stability and the future potential of the stable elements, transformation will either be undertaken starting with the present stand or it will rather focus on the next generation. Practical measures need to be based on a precise order of priorities regarding the criteria stability, life expectancy of cover trees, initiation of regeneration, development of already installed regeneration and improvement of vertical standstructure. Finally, duration of transformation and development of standing volume over the whole phase of transformation needs to be considered.
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