An alternative management regime of selection cutting for sustaining stand structure of mixed forests of northern Japan: a simulation study

Abstract

In uneven-aged conifer–broadleaved mixed forests in Hokkaido, northern Japan, single-tree selection cutting has been a common management practice since the early twentieth century. This practice is expected to produce timber without major changes in stand structure or tree species composition. The demographic response of forests to this practice has often been unexpected, and degradation of stand properties has been widely observed. We propose here a sustainable management regime of selection cutting, based on an individual-based forest dynamics simulation model, SORTIE-ND. Our simulations, based on demographic data from 15 long-term monitoring stands, suggest that selection cutting using a lower cutting intensity together with a longer rotation period and reduced removal of small trees and conifer species is more appropriate than traditional systems in terms of maintaining stand structure and tree species composition, as well as being profitable financially. Supplemental regeneration practices, which can counter accidental mortality incurred during harvesting operations, would also be necessary to ensure tree recruitment.