2023/02/14

Appropriation, usage, technical and Scientific

aspects of Forest Management

Lecturer: Moses N Chisola

1. Management of Miombo woodlands

• Savannah woodlands (Miombo, Kalahari, Mopane and Munga woodlands) account

for about 71% of the total land area.

• Savannah woodlands are dominated by the Miombo, which covers

about 45 % of the country’s total area

• Miombo woodlands cover a number of countries in Southern Africa,

including Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Zimbabwe,
Zambia and parts of Namibia and Botswana.

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1. Management of Miombo woodlands

• The woodlands are of considerable economic importance

in Zambia for the supply of;
firewood, charcoal, timber and Non Timber Forest
Products.

2. Emerging themes in the

management of Miombo woodland

The four emerging themes are;

A. Silvicultural systems must support local livelihoods

- Clear felling, Coppice with standards, Cutting cycles in miombo, Selective cutting

B. Promoting regeneration and increased productivity

C. Management through fire and grazing

D. Support for indigenous practices and institutions

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A. Silvicultural systems

• Silviculture is the application of the principles of forest

ecology to a stand of trees to help meet specified objectives.

• A silvicultural system is the process of tending, harvesting

and regenerating a forest.

• Different objectives in forest management (e.g. conservation in

a natural woodland vs. production of timber from a Eucalyptus
plantation) are likely to lead to the adoption of
different silvicultural systems.

A. Silvicultural systems

• Three basic silvicultural systems are commonly advocated for the purposes
of harvesting miombo woodlands:
i. complete coppice or clear cutting;
ii. coppice with standards;
iii. and selective cutting.

• Of these, selective cutting most closely resembles existing practices of local users (other
than commercial charcoal production where clear felling is the norm) and is the most
suitable for the provision of a wide range of wood and non-wood products.

• The other two systems are better suited to the production of larger dimension wood
products, including commercial firewood, large poles and saw-timber.

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A. Silvicultural systems
1. Complete coppice or clear cutting (Clear felling)

How it works
• All trees above a certain size are harvested, and the forest plot is completely
cleared, leaving just saplings and undergrowth.
How does Regeneration happen then?
• The clearcut area can be regenerated by:
i. windborne seeds from nearby areas,
ii. seeds that fell on the area before harvesting
iii. artificial seeding or planting seedlings or trees
iv. coppice growth (the shoots that grow from the stumps of trees when they
are cut or stressed) – This is the most important for miombo woodland

Regeneration by coppice

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A. Silvicultural systems

i. Complete coppice or clear cutting

(Clear felling)

Advantages
• In the miombo woodland, clear felling produces the highest rate of
regrowth of the three sylvicultural systems
• It is best suited to timber harvesting operations where there is little species
selectivity and total volume is of greatest importance.
• This system is applicable, for example, when harvesting firewood for
charcoal industries and it Generates highest immediate financial returns
• Regeneration is rapid, and can be managed according to the products
required.

A. Silvicultural systems

1. Complete coppice or clear cutting (Clear felling)

Disadvantages
• Land more vulnerable to erosion from wind and rain – negative impact
on ecosystem
• Regeneration can be difficult if land is degraded due to unsustainable
cutting practices
• If land degradation - then may require investments in preparing the site
for seeding or planting, thinning, controlling competition and protecting
young trees from small mammals
• Land becomes unpleasant to look at and of little value for recreation

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A. Silvicultural systems

2. COPPICE WITH STANDARDS

How it works
• The high value timber species are left to grow until they reach maturity, whilst the other species are
clear cut and the regeneration is managed to produce a range of small dimension wood products
such as firewood and poles.
• The system has also been proposed for use by smallscale farmers, as a means to maximise the
production of firewood and poles whilst retaining high value species that produce non-wood
products and other services, such as fruit trees and trees with spiritual.

Regeneration
Regeneration is from natural regeneration from trees in the original stand
and from coppice (regrowth)

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A. Silvicultural systems

2. COPPICE WITH STANDARDS

Advantages
• It retains a portion of tree cover thus protecting site from
erosion and sun scorch.
• The system is suitable for the production of timber from
certain high value species that only comprise a portion
of the woodland biomass.

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A. Silvicultural systems

2. COPPICE WITH STANDARDS

Disadvantages
• Regeneration is much slower due to shade that comes
from the retained trees.
• May not give a very high financial return to charcoal
burners

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A. Silvicultural systems

3. CUTTING CYCLES IN MIOMBO (the Coupe system)

How it works
• It is a silvicultural practice of rotational harvesting – can be clear cutting
and coppice with standards.
• The basic idea is to divide the woodland into enough blocks to allow for a
continuous cutting cycle to be established;
• by the time the last block, or coupe is cut, the first is ready for
reharvesting.
• The number of felling coupes, then, is equal to the number of years it
takes for the cut trees to regenerate and reach harvesting size, also known
as the cutting cycle.

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A. Silvicultural systems

3. CUTTING CYCLES IN MIOMBO (the Coupe system)

• Cutting cycles for miombo woodland are difficult to determine because of

(i) site variation across the miombo region,
(ii) the wide range of species harvested, and
(iii) the variety of products required.

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A. Silvicultural systems

3. CUTTING CYCLES IN MIOMBO (the Coupe system)

Some general cutting cycles for certain products

• Cutting cycle of between 3-5 years is recommended for the production of
firewood and small poles,
• 10-15 years for medium sized poles and roofing struts,
• and 25 or more years for large poles and timber,
• and 40 or more years for saw log timber.
• Trees for charcoal could be harvested for approximately every eight years

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A. Silvicultural systems

4. SELECTIVE CUTTING
This system is widely practiced throughout the world in old growth
indigenous forests with multiple age or size classes.
How it works
• Specific products or species, are harvested through felling, coppice
thinning or lopping of branches.
• In its simplest form, harvesting under this system is not restricted to a
single cutting period or areas (coupe).
• Instead, harvesting is ongoing and takes place throughout the woodland,
or the areas zoned for utilisation.

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A. Silvicultural systems

4. SELECTIVE CUTTING
How it works – continuation…
• Sustainability can be promoted through selectivity, i.e. if only certain
types and sizes of wood are harvested from particular species, and trees are
left to grow until they reach the required dimensions.
• This approach provides for harvesting of multiple products, and relies on
simple observation for determining when re-harvesting can take place.
• This does away for need for information on harvesting intervals;
information that is difficult to come by because of the wide range of
products and variability of production rates.

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A. Silvicultural systems

4. SELECTIVE CUTTING

How about regeneration?

• Natural regeneration takes place through the usual means of coppice,
sapling growth and reseeding, whilst those trees that were not cut continue
to grow.

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A. Silvicultural systems

4. SELECTIVE CUTTING

Disadvantages
• Regeneration rates depend on the extent of canopy clearing. In general,
the regeneration rates are slower under this system compared to clear
cutting and coppice with standards systems.

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A. Silvicultural systems
4. SELECTIVE CUTTING

Modification of the selective cutting approach

• A more formalised approach to selective cutting is to include forest zonation and a system of
rotational cutting compartments as in the other two silvicultural systems.
• Zonation is used to segment the forest or woodland area into different categories of use and
management, such as conservation areas, recreation areas and areas where harvesting takes place.
• Cutting cycles may be introduced for planning purposes and to guard against over exploitation, but
are worked out for each species and product and according to a range of site variables.
• In addition to harvesting for specific products, selective thinning may be practiced as management
tool to remove dead and dying trees, and improve growth rates of the remaining trees.
• Pruning of unwanted branches is another management practice to aid growth and improve form of
individual trees.
• If you look at the Forest Act, some of these elements are allowed in Forest reserves – which ones?

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B. Promoting regeneration and increased

productivity
• If you understand one basic idea, you can understand almost everything
else in forestry.

• This idea of shade tolerance as it pertains to forest succession!

• Different species of trees have differing abilities to tolerate extended

periods under a closed canopy.

• Species are generally divided into;

- shade tolerant,
- shade intolerant,
- and shade intermediate categories.

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B. Promoting regeneration and increased productivity

Forest Succession
Succession refers to the change in species composition that occurs in
a stand over time.
• An area is colonized by intolerant, fast-growing species. Eventually,
tolerant trees become established in the understorey and start
growing into the canopy.

• One of two things then happens either;

(1) the intolerants die naturally and are replaced by the tolerants that
have been present in the understory for some time, or
(2) the tolerant trees finally overtop the intolerants and shade them
out, causing them to die.

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B. Promoting regeneration and increased productivity

How do these concepts about light/succession apply to the

Miombo woodland?
• The remarkable regenerating capacity of miombo is key to its
ongoing productivity.
• After tree cutting there is rapid natural regeneration from;
- coppice,
- root suckers and
- The large bank of suppressed saplings, known as suffrutices
• These forms of regeneration allow for much faster reestablishment than
regeneration from seed, and provide a degree of protection from fire and grazing
– because root system is already established and sometimes, they are at height
that cannot be easily reached by small fires and browsing animals

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B. Promoting regeneration and increased productivity

How do these concepts about light/succession apply to the

Miombo woodland?
• The remarkable regenerating capacity of miombo is key to its
ongoing productivity and resilience.
• After tree cutting, the canopy opens up resulting in rapid natural
regeneration from;
- coppice,
- root suckers and
- The large bank of suppressed saplings, known as suffrutices
• These forms of regeneration allow for much faster reestablishment than
regeneration from seed, and provide a degree of protection from fire and grazing
– because root system is already established and sometimes, they are at height
that cannot be easily reached by small fires and browsing animals

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B. Promoting regeneration and increased productivity

Factors to consider when regenerating from coppice
1. Harvesting method - A clean cut with a saw results in more vigorous
coppicing than a jagged cut from an axe.
2. The height of cutting –
- The greater the height at which the stem is cut, the greater the
number of resultant coppice shoots due to - better protection from fires
and browsing animals
- This effect of stump height can be attributed to availability of more
reserved food and dormant buds on longer stumps. Also, cutting too
low on the stem of the tree might encourage fungal infection because
of moisture from the ground or stump decay.
3. Stump size positively correlated with coppice density – large stumps
have more food reserves to support resprouting
4. The cutting should be slanting to ensure that water does not collect on
the remaining stumps. This aids coppicing (growing of new shoots).

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B. Promoting regeneration and increased productivity

• The aforesaid show that coppice management can provide a

win–win strategy for sustaining forest-based livelihoods and
recovering woodland ecosystems.

• This can be achieved by proper planning of harvesting for fuel

wood and managing the subsequent coppices.

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B. Promoting regeneration and increased productivity

How to manage the subsequent coppices/regeneration
• Subsequent to cutting, coppice regrowth can be managed according to
conventional silvicultural practices;

1. Thinning
- The more shoots the greater the inter-shoot competition and the longer it will
take for reestablishment of apical dominance.
- If the number of coppice shoots is reduced by thinning, browsing or fire, then
apical dominance will be re-established sooner, and height growth will
accelerate.
- In such a situation there will be fewer shoots per stump, but longer and
thicker.
- Note: usually, local users don’t do thinning – it happens by default through
fire, browsing or as people cut small diameter trees which tend to be on high
demand.

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B. Promoting regeneration and increased productivity

How to manage the subsequent

coppices/regeneration – continuation..

2. Enrichment planting could be done in portions of the forest where

natural regeneration was not very successful. It could also be a means
to alter the species composition of the woodland, or to ensure
regeneration of certain high value species.

3. Ensure there is enough moisture (watering) for the regeneration

especially if it is from seed or seedlings

4. Proper fire and grazing management plan must be put up to protect

the regeneration

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END

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