Growing Oaks at Closer Spacing

The reasons for the scarcity of tall straight oaks (Quercusrobur L. and Q. petraea (Mattuschka) Liebl.) in Great Britainare discussed in this paper. It is argued that the historicalpractice of growing timber at very wide spacings in coppice-with-standardssystems rather than high forest, coupled with generations ofselection for crookedness rather than straightness, has resultedin a dearth of tall, well-formed trees. Evidence is presentedthat oak produced in conditions of quite severe competitionwill grow much taller than widely spaced trees. It is concludedthat the current practice of planting at densities of 1100 treesper hectare is unlikely to lead to the government's stated objectiveof encouraging an 'increase [in] the quality and value of timberproduced by broadleaved woodlands as a whole' (Forestry Commission,1985). The economic and other implications of considerably closerspacing are discussed. Received 15 October 1990.     

Economic Prospects for Natural Management of Woodlands in the UK

The profitability of a wide range of management options, rangingfrom intensive coniferous to more ‘natural’ systems,are examined. The investments are investigated by the use ofthree different measures of long-term financial viability, benefit-costratios, land expectation values and forest rent. Analysis bythe first method highlights the efficiency of investment formore ‘natural’ management systems, and the secondmethod favours the ‘traditional’ coniferous plantations.Forest rent tends to favour management options generating largerevenues irrespective of their timing within a rotation.