Forest Regeneration 4 Years After a Clearcut

Regeneration of a forest stand at Malcolm Knapp Research Forest, four years after a harvest by clearcut.
Filmed by Patrick Culbert, University of British Columbia - Faculty of Forestry

[@PatrickCulbertUBCForestry]

If you'd like to see an alternative to a traditional clearcut, watch kzbin.info/www/bejne/n2bdYWB8qq6fmrM.

[@brianlapointe2764]

Glad to see that some trees were harvested - great to get value from the forest in forest products. The new forest is filling in quickly. It is a rich site. Thanks for sharing the information.

[@kenblough1626]

Thanks for the video - much appreciated and needed information.

[@MuhammadArshad-uy9xc]

No doubt very impressive description you both persons. I really very much interested in the information presented in detail... Cool.

This regrowth is nice and all but it will not be the same on a slope where the rain and snowmelt degrades the soil and quickly moves nutrients downhill. The sun in clear-cut areas will also bake the soil.

[@PatrickCulbertUBCForestry]

Thanks for your thoughts, Brian. -Erosion is always a concern in forest operations. Typically roads are the biggest sources of erosion, so good road layout and water management (placement and slope of ditches, culverts, etc.) are crucial. In steep areas with streams, riparian buffers are also very important for managing erosion. I have a video on that coming soon. -Soil temperatures are indeed higher in clearcuts, and this is an increasing concern in a warming climate. The post-harvest soil has some sun protection from residual slash (bark and branches left from harvest) and other vegetation will also grow quickly due to the the dramatic increase in light, providing some shade for the soil (this also also helps reduce erosion). Most trees here in BC are planted by hand and tree planters are good at identifying microsites where seedlings will have more access to moisture. I often see seedlings planted on the north side of a stump (to maximize shade) or in a small depression that will be wetter than a spot just a meter away. -For a more ecologically minded alternative to a traditional clearcut, check out: kzbin.info/www/bejne/n2bdYWB8qq6fmrMsi=FryI94UNhFdMD30a -For more info on the challenges of regenerating a forest in hot and dry conditions (in this case, following the William's Lake fire of 2017), watch: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eXSmcnWoqNZ4q7ssi=k8vO2Ri-QWnMZqa3

[@TomOHern]

They aren't regenerating a forest, they are growing a plantation.

[@rickybosephus2036]

Why is there no debate about monopoly SPI in California and Oregon annihilating forests and replacing the native trees and plants with GMO ponderosa pines? Am I wrong that SPI sprays herbicide on the plants and trees that they are showcasing?

[@CapriciousBlackBox]

".....it doesn't really matter, there's different methods to go about it......" Yeah, that's not something I see out there in the cutblock. I see far more involved overgrowth that out-competes the planted trees and volunteers. I don't see anyone brushing....or if they are it's not comprehensive or particularly effective. I'm also dubious that the hydrology is undisturbed by such clearcut practices....again from personal experience in woodlots that I have frequented long before, and now after, a clearcut logging operation.

[@robertmccully2792]

Rather see the people that plant and are planting then some college grad taking the credit.

[@jeffweiss6346]

It's unfortunate that they don't discuss or monitor the soil nutrients and organic matter. By removing all the trees they have basically raided the "food supply" for any future, long term growth. That's called bio-mining. They use a short term visual method to somewhat foolishly assess what is going on. Both these individuals, with 70-80 year life spans, are trying to discuss a phenomenon that could easily be on time scales of 200-500 years. They do sound college educated with all that tree farming vocabulary to go with it.

[@outlaws6477]

I think you just made that up because that makes 0 sense.