Holistic Forestry Planning
Holistic Forestry is a comprehensive design science approach to forest management, aiming to develop resilient, multifunctional forest ecosystems that accommodate landowner values and needs. HF employs ecological forestry principles and assumes nature as a teacher of best management practices. A combination of both modern and traditional, methods and technologies are selected to advance landowner goals, develop the quality and integrity of forest resources, and optimize human-nature relationships.
Holistic Forestry Plans (HFPs)
HFPs are documents that guide the management activities of forest resources. The plan includes a project description, site analysis, survey results, an overview of management prescriptions and techniques, a management schedule/timeline, and other supplemental material deemed relevant to landowner goals and objectives.
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Holistic Forestry prescriptions may include, but are not limited to:
Tree plantings, prescribed grazing & burning, coppicing & pollarding, plant removal & thinning, silviculture & logging, agroforestry, ecosystem restoration, soil & forest health treatments, and more.
The Holistic Forestry Process
Phase I: Orientation
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Initial discussion, protocols, history of land and inhabitants, land tenure, institutional analysis (businesses), holistic goal, vision, mission, geopolitical assessment, bioregional delineation, skill sets, values, objectives, goals, needs, wants, available budgets and monies.
Mapping sample plots before forest survey
Phase II: Forest Resources Survey & Inventory
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The inventory begins with the design of the survey. Points are selected equidistantly throughout a forest setting. At each of the plots, data is collected regarding tree diameter, height, species, structural quality, associated plants, and general site characteristics.
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This data is then analyzed in order to produce estimates for the total volume of different tree species and assess forest health, stocking rates, and successional dynamics.
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The survey is supplemented with on-site observations and remote research regarding: location, access, landform, climate, microclimate, water resources and hydrology, soil composition and organic matter content, flora and fauna associations (historic & present), ecology, geology, the built environment, and land use history.
Example Timber Inventory Results
Phase III: Develop a Holistic Forestry Plan (HFP)
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The plan is a document that guides the management activities of forest resources. The plan includes the project description, site analysis, survey results, an overview of management prescriptions and techniques, a management schedule/timeline, and other supplemental material deemed relevant to landowner goals and objectives.
Phase IV: Management & Monitoring
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Based on the stakeholders’ budgets of time, money, and skillset, we will devise a plan for implementation. This may involve skillset training or contract work.
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State and Federal programs offer assistance for qualifying land management activities. These programs may offer financial assistance or technical resources to support your project.
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Adaptive management requires that the steward closely monitors unfolding plant community dynamics. You must observe the life cycles of your plants and notice the tendencies of certain plants to dominate others, in order to precisely time supplemental inter-seedings, plantings, burns, or grazing operations.
Example HFP Table of Contents
