Overview

If you had the responsibility for bringing your knowledge to bear in deciding the care and stewardship of a forest and surrounding landscape over many future decades what would you do? The responsibility for drawing up a management plan stretching decades into the future, for a single area, can be a great privilege for a forester / land manager. This module provides an opportunity to develop professional and practical skills required to produce a forest management plan (also known as ‘land management plans’) that (a) meets professional standards and (b) will achieve forest / land owners’ stated objectives for a particular area. The module is comprised of blackboard-based resources, GIS exercises and online lectures, seminars, group work, computer practicals and site visits. Cooperation amongst students is strongly encouraged during the module and active participation will greatly assist understanding of all aspects of management planning.

The origins and meaning of sustainable forest management - Pan-European operational level guidelines (PEOLG) and their implementation at national level (UK Forestry Standard and UK Woodland Assurance Standard). The forest / land management planning process - scoping; survey; analysis; synthesis; implementation; monitoring; review.
Production of a forest / land management plan - site description, including use of forest datasets and other datasets to produce high quality maps using GIS and remote sensing (and full awareness of the limitations of such datasets, including missing / incorrect / non-existent data); desired characteristics and limiting factors; current levels, target levels and monitoring; general approaches to implementation; five-year work programme; cash flow forecast, including estimation of timber production, income and expenditure.

Assessment Strategy

Threshold (D) All sections of the plan are present and most material is in the right section(s). There is a basic site description, but some important details and maps are missing. Lists of desired characteristics and limiting factors are provided, but are either incomplete or repetitious. Current levels, target levels and monitoring requirements are confused / inappropriate / missing. General approaches to implementation are mostly sensible but lack detail. A five-year work programme, production forecast and cash flow forecast are included but there is a lack consistency with earlier parts of the plan or with each other. The plan includes sections which contradict other sections. The plan would require substantial revision before it could be put into practice.

Good (B) All sections of the plan are present and all material is in the right section(s). There is a good site description, with only minor omissions of detail. Desired characteristics are sensible and realistic, and most limiting factors are identified. Current levels, target levels and monitoring requirements are given for all desired characteristics, and most are quantified. General approaches to implementation are workable and show understanding. The five-year work programme, production forecast and cash flow forecast are mainly consistent with earlier parts of the plan and with each other. The plan includes some minor inconsistencies. The plan would require minor revision before it could be put into practice.

Excellent (A) All sections of the plan are present and all material is in the right section(s). There is a detailed, comprehensive site description. The vision and long-term policy are original and appropriate. Desired characteristics are both imaginative and realistic, and all limiting factors are identified. Current levels, target levels and monitoring requirements are given for all desired characteristics, and are fully quantified. General approaches to implementation show imagination and detailed understanding. The five-year work programme, production forecast and cash flow forecast are detailed, and completely consistent with earlier parts of the plan and with each other. The plan could be put into practice at once, without revision.

Learning Outcomes

• Be able to draw up a vision, long-term policy and management objectives that are coherent, complimentary and appropriate for a specific site.

• Develop an integrated forest management plan to meet stated management objectives.

• Identify (using suitable text, maps produced using GIS and other appropriate techniques) suitable and realistic strategies and proposals that enable the vision, long term policy and management objectives for the plan to be met.

• Identify suitable indicators, targets and monitoring procedures which are appropriate and realistic for management objectives.

• Produce a detailed work programme, production forecast and cash flow forecast for the first five years of the plan.

• Produce a forest management plan that is robust, coherent and holistic, in which individual sections compliment and enhance the document as a whole.

• Show a critical understanding of the ways in which current forestry policies, legislation, standards and guidelines influence forest management planning and its outcomes

• Utilise appropriate techniques and datasets in combination with a desktop GIS to construct maps and undertake spatial analyses in order to describe the study site and illustrate key aspects of the management plan, such as a felling plan, regeneration plan and long-term plan.