Silviculture—More Complex Than Ever

Silviculture is the central discipline of forestry. It has always been influenced by changes in social and environmental conditions. Much has been accomplished in terms of advancing silviculture, including the culture, scope, and the goals and values it supports. However, we see that trends that initiated or strengthened during the last three decades are not well reflected in the current definition and this provides a barrier for further progress. Such trends include global change, an increased diversity of landowners and associated management goals, expectations of people with a wide range of values, and an acceptance of different ways of knowing. In this context, we see the benefit of providing a more holistic view. Thus, we propose to define silviculture as the “art and science of supporting and stewarding forest and woodland ecosystems and their ability to adapt in order to foster the diverse values of forest's contributions to people, including landowners, rights holders, communities and society". We discuss this proposed definition, specifically how it can lead to increased flexibility in silvicultural decisions, which can reflect a higher diversity of values and strengthen the adaptive capacity of forests. Furthermore, we discuss how addressing these trends requires a change in education.