Silviculture: Building Resilient Forests for Nature, Industry and Society

By Edward (Ted) Wilson

A photo of birch trees. — A young stand of silver birch that has regenerated naturally in a forest gap created during a wind storm. The stand has been thinned to give the best trees more room to grow. Enhancing the resilience of forests into the future will require greater understanding of biotic and abiotic disturbances, and a wide range of silvicultural techniques. Coombs Wood, Cumbria, England. Photo: Edward Wilson 2025.

Silviculture is the living heart of forestry. It is the discipline that shapes how we establish, tend and renew our forests. It combines science, practice and philosophy; and guides how we grow trees not only for timber, but for biodiversity, carbon, and community benefits. In its truest sense, silviculture is about ensuring that the forests we inherit can adapt, endure and thrive for generations to come. It is also about stewardship, recognising that foresters only care for a woodland for a relatively short period of time before bequeathing its management to our successors.

Throughout my career, I have come to see silviculture not simply as a technical pursuit, but as a creative, lifelong journey full of learning. I am confident many colleagues feel the same way. It is an evolving craft, rooted in applied science and informed by observation, reflection and shared experience. As climate change accelerates, and as new pests, diseases, and societal expectations reshape our forests, silviculture has never been more important, more challenging, or more inspiring.

The Need for Continuing Professional Development

The UK and Irish forestry sectors stand at a turning point. Climate change is already altering growth patterns, site conditions and natural disturbance regimes. This is leading to great uncertainty about future conditions, species suitability and appropriate forest structures that are resilient. At the same time forest health issues, including Phytophthora ramorum, ash dieback and the spread of spruce bark beetles, are rewriting our silvicultural playbook. These pressures demand an ongoing process of learning, experimentation, and adaptation.

That is why continuing professional development (CPD) is essential. Silviculture today requires not only practical experience but also a willingness to stay current with emerging research and evolving best practice. CPD enables foresters to build confidence in adaptive management, which now lies at the core of sustainable forest management globally. Adaptive management is a process of continuous learning by doing, evaluating and improving over time. It calls for evidence-based practice, monitoring forest change and re-evaluating decisions at the time of future interventions.

A large group of people wearing hard hats stand in a forest looking at the trees. — Silviculture has evolved as a community of practice where foresters and researchers share their experience and discuss ideas, emerging priorities and technical developments. Forest meetings and workshops are important opportunities that bring silviculturists together. Here we see participants at the US Forest Service National Silviculture Workshop visiting the Silviculture Options Study, Capitol State Forest, Olympia, Washington, USA. Photo: Edward Wilson 2024.

To help meet this need, much of my career is now devoted to developing training and professional learning opportunities that connect science, policy and field practice. Together with Dee Tomlinson, we established the Silviculture Academy as a not-for-profit educational organisation that specialises in knowledge mobilisation and skill development in silviculture for professional foresters. Our Advanced Silviculture Programme helps foresters deepen their technical knowledge while building the leadership skills required to implement change on the ground.

Research and the Power of Applied Learning

Applied silvicultural research provides the evidence base for effective forest management. It bridges the gap between experimental science and practical forestry that makes it possible to translate data into decisions. Across the UK and Ireland, research programmes are generating valuable insights into mixed-species stands, continuous cover forestry, provenance adaptation and soil processes.

Through collaborations with colleagues in universities, research institutes and forestry organisations, we seek to ensure that such findings are not confined to papers, but are translated into practice. This is achieved most effectively through workshops, demonstration forests and peer-to-peer learning. The forests themselves become living laboratories and classrooms, where foresters observe, question and adapt. By applying principles, monitoring outcomes and refining our methods we strengthen both our forests and our profession.

Evolving Silviculture from Control to Care of Forest Stands

Traditional silviculture often sought control in all aspects of forest stand development, embracing concepts of uniformity, predictability and simplicity. Looking ahead, the new silviculture seeks resilience through diversity. It recognises that complexity and change are inherent to living systems.

Continuous Cover Forestry (CCF) is perhaps the most emblematic management approach that illustrates this evolution in silvicultural science and practice. By maintaining a continuous canopy and regenerating forests through selective felling, CCF enhances soil protection, biodiversity and structural stability while delivering timber and carbon over time. It is also highly favoured by society for the “naturalness” of the environment and biodiversity gains. However, it requires technical skill, ecological awareness and patience, and new learning on the part of forest managers.

Equally, the renewed focus on broadleaf silviculture and future-adapted tree species is reshaping our approach to woodland design. Managing oak, beech, birch or sycamore for timber and habitat requires deep understanding of site dynamics and long-term vision. Introducing new or under-appreciated species such as Douglas fir, western red cedar, or sweet chestnut must be grounded in rigorous trial data and shared experience, all areas where applied research and field learning are essential.

Emerging Themes: Soils, Diversity, and Decision-Making

A photo of a mixed conifer woodland. — A mixed-conifer woodland managed on principles of Continuous Cover Forestry (CCF). In this management system trees are harvested and the forest ecosystem is preserved, at one and the same time. It requires detailed knowledge of species and forest dynamics, and is an important area of research and development at the present time. Cloragh Wood, County Wicklow, Ireland. Photo: Edward Wilson 2023.

Perhaps the next frontier of silviculture lies below ground in the health of our soils and, the vitality of our root systems and the below ground networks of mycorrhizal fungi. Healthy soils sustain healthy forests. Understanding nutrient cycling, organic matter dynamics and hydrology will be central to climate adaptation so that appropriate tree species and management systems match the site conditions.

At the same time, diversity in species, structures and genetics are our strongest defences against uncertainty. Silviculture must therefore be integrative and blend ecology, technology, and human judgement. Tools such as GIS, LiDAR and remote sensing are transforming how we monitor forests. However, such developments will never replace the human eye, the trained hand or the professional’s intuition built through years of experience in the forest.

Nurturing a Community of Practice

My professional journey has been driven by the belief that silviculture can change our environment for the better. It can heal landscapes, support rural livelihoods, and deliver the nature-rich, climate-resilient forests that society now demands. It has a cultural dimension that is not always appreciated. Being part of the transformation in our approach to silviculture, and woodland conservation more widely, has brought a tremendous sense of purpose and satisfaction to my own career.

A man in a hi-vis jacket surveys an area of natural generation. — Surveying an area of natural regeneration and observing patterns of seedling growth and development. Silviculturists spend a great deal of time learning from nature and making decisions about how best to integrate economic, environmental and social values of the forest. Craggach Wood, Inverness-shire, Scotland. Photo: Annie Griffiths 2025.

I have come to learn that forestry, above all else, is about people. Silviculture is not just about growing trees, it is about growing possibility. For change and adaptation to take place we need to inspire confidence in a wide range of skills and silvicultural practices that can be applied at the site level. This, in turn, requires a community of silviculturists, a growing number of practitioners with silvicultural expertise. Together, we can blend research and practice, tradition and innovation, to build forests that truly serve both people and planet.

The future of forestry will be shaped by those who understand its living systems and are passionate about guiding their evolution. There has never been a better time to be involved in this dynamic and growing sector, which embraces a more diverse range of opportunities than before. Skills in silviculture can be widely applied and career prospects for suitably qualified and engaged professionals are excellent, whether based in Britain, Ireland or elsewhere around the world.

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Edward (Ted) Wilson is Principal of Silviculture Academy and Adjunct Professor of Silviculture at the Institute of Forestry and Conservation, University of Toronto, Canada. With over 35 years of experience as a forester, working in Canada, the UK and Ireland, he now devotes his energy to applied research, training and knowledge mobilisation in silviculture.

Email: contact Silviculture Academy via email here

Website: www.silvicultureacademy.org.uk