SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry - Empire Forester Yearbook (Syracuse, NY)

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gflviculfufze SVEND O. HEIBERG .ll.VlCUI,TURli is the branch of forestry which deals with the establishment and the care of forests. Until a few decades ago silvicul- ' ture was a newcomer to the American continent. Today silvicultural principles are at least established within both public and private forestry, but many private forest owners, both large and small, are still somewhat skeptical as to the need and profitability of investing money and labor in growing crops of timber. Nevertheless the application of Silviculture is expanding at a tremendous rate. Many private companies that took few measures to increase growth or reproduction of desirable species ten years ago are today employing rather intensive measures and are investing considerable funds to insure future production of their forest areas. This increased application of technical principles provides an opportunity for the employment of more men trained in general forestry. Forestry is no longer concerned solely with the acquisition and protection of forest land, but also with the treatment of the forest for higher and more profitable pro- duction of forest products now and in the future. Along with the greater interest in applied silviculture comes a rapidly increasing need for basic knowledge, especially in forest ecology and forest economies. lt is not enough to know how to pro- duce a stand of trees regardless of cost, it must also be a stand that will serve the economic purpose for which it is to be established and it must be done in a manner so that the expected return is consider- ably greater than all the expenses involved. Research is therefore needed within these two basic silvicultural fields. So far, the greater em- phasis has been placed upon forest ecology. This should not be lessened. But it is of equal importance to have exact economic data on the various details of the logging operation as well as volume growth translated into value growth. Silviculture will not wholly be accepted until it clearly can justify itself on an economic basis. Another area of investigation that is of great importance for better silviculture, but as yet -hard- ly recognized and developed, is forest genetics. Agriculture and horticulture have long since started using genetics for economic purposes. The vast improvement in both quality and quantity of food crop yields is due primarily to genetical selection and hvbridization. Silviculture today is using the na- tive forest vegetation as it is without appreciating similar hybridization and selection possibilities with- in each species. The general objective to which silvicultural methods have been developed has been wood pro- duction. However, on many forest areas, there are other objectives of equal or greater importance. Recreational demands, production of the greatest sustained volume of potable wa- ter and the best environment and food for game are other objectives for which silvi- cultural methods have only been developed to a limited extent. Mr. Barrett, Mr. VVhite, Dr. Farnsworth, Pro- fessor I-Ieiberg. E151

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y l14l 0 ofzest ana ement HAROLD C. BELYEA ORESTRY in the United States is essentially a child of the twen- tieth century. lts real beginning, in lS9S, was under Gifford Pinchot in the reorganization of the Forestry Division of the U. S. Department of Agriculture. The first years of the present century were also marked by the offering of organized academic instruction in the schools, notably those started at Biltmore and Yale. Apart from the establishment and development of many outstanding schools, probably the most noteworthy accomplishment in forestry has been the encouraging results achieved by the profession in education, in collectingpertinent information and in stimulating the mental attitude of the American people toward the concepts of sustained forest management, forest fire protection and prevention. This excellent job has been done by public forestry agencies, notably the United States Forest Service. Many schools, however, have done rather intensive yeoman service. The main. 'contribution of these schools has been in the development of the multiple services that properly managed forests offer to the public, The value of this service is seen in the more or less general adoption of this approach by the American public. But we in forestry are not so much concerned with the events of the past as we are with the possible developments in the future. As we see them, they will probably occur within four general fields: forest appraisal, forest economics, forest administration and forest policy. Afvpraisal ln appraisal, with a growing familiarity and increase in the knowledge, techniques and materials of photogrammetry, the forester will more and more rely on photographic methods for mapping, cruis- ing and estimating. Economics Today there is a growing realization of the importance of economics as a factor in forest man- agement. Forestry, essentially, is as much a problem of land use and land economics as is agriculture. Future college generations of forestry will devote a great deal more time to the fundamentals of this important subject. ' Administration Witli a growing realization of the economic values in forest properties, there will be an increas- ing concern with their proper organization and administration. This will call for men skilled in all phases of administration but particularly in the administration and management of forest properties over long-time periods of ownership. gl! Policy Within the next few years a struggle concerning the degree of regulation which government can impose on private industry seems immi- nent in the United States. In no field will the strife be more bitter than in that area covered by forest industries. Al- ready the first lines are being drawn. How long will be the struggle and what will be the outcome, no man knows. The degree in which we agree that government can regulate cutting on private land de- pends, in the main, on how far the think- ing of the American public approaches to or veers from state socialism. By the year 2000 it will all have been decided. H Mr. Fedkiw, Mr. Stanton, Professor Graves, Professor Belyea, Professor Sammi, Professor Delavau.

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Sltrrzdiizfl, left I0 right Dr. Lowe. Dr. Zabel, Dr. ofzesf gofaml DR. RAY R. Hmm forest is a group of many species of plants that are commonly associated and have certain common requirements for their best growth. Hence the subordinate vegetations may serve well as useful site indicators for reforestation. increased knowledge of taxonomy and ecology will aid in recognizing and understanding better the significance of these minor plants in a 'forest community. As the practice of forestry becomes more and more intensive, attention becomes. directed toward smaller and smaller stands, and the importance of the individual tree within a stand increases. Thus there is greater need of more information about the physiology of forest treesg for more knowledge of those living and non-living influences that affect the health of forest treesg and for all the data we we can secure on how to grow trees well under the artificial 'environment of a young plantation. Vtfhen a tree is viewed as an individual organism, it is easy to understand that it has quality and character of its own. It may have a pleasing shapeg it may grow unusually rapidlyg it may character- istically have a single trunk instead of a forked trunkg or it may -be resistant to disease. Quite often these characteristics can be continued in offspring produced vegetatively from cuttings, grafts, or by budding and occasionally they are carried over in seedlings. Genetics as applied to forest trees is rapid- ly developing in America and is a fruitful field for the young forester. Fungi cause many of the serious diseases of forest trees and are responsible for wood decay. The major forest tree diseases are being studied with a View of control by the application of silvicul- tural practices. By recognizing the fungi and the symptoms of their presence in trees, and by asso- ciating their presence with the amount of cull, a more rational utilization -of the forest crop can he ob- tained. Mycology and forest pathology contribute to this knowledge. The field of forest botany extends beyond the actual forest. Fungi may greatly decrease the value of forest products and even destroy many through decay. Studies are in progress concerning the control of stain and decay through the use of wood preservatives. Preservatives that control one fun- gus sometimes, in certain concentrations, stimulate other decay fungi to develop more rapidly. The fungous flora in one part of America not the same, necessarily, as in other parts. This creates dif- ferent control problems. Changes in house construction and insulation have created new problems in decay control. Closer utilization of wood has caused slightly decayed lumber to appear on the market. As yet no one knows if such wood is less or more subject to decay 'by those fungi which inhabit service timbers. Forest botany is a broad field that offers many opportunities for research which can contribute greatly to the welfare of man. l t l Silverborg, Dr. Morrison, Dr. Decker. Smled Dr. l-firt.