Integrating plant autecology and silvicultural activities to prevent forest vegetation management problems

Forest managers are under increasing pressure to decrease herbicide use throughout North America. Reducing herbicide use for stand tending, while maintaining or increasing reforestation success, will require greater knowledge of how to minimize vegetation management problems in young stands. The type, intensity, timing, and frequency of silvicultural activities (especially harvesting and site preparation) interact with the autecological characteristics of forest weeds to affect their survival or invasion. Autecological characteristics include 1) habitat requirements 2) modes of reproduction 3) growth habit 4) phenology and 5) response to disturbance. Not considering these relationships often initiates successional pathways that force vegetation management into a "removal loop", where release treatments are required to remove or suppress forest weeds. Modifying silvicultural activities based on thorough analysis of site conditions and an understanding of plant autecology can move vegetation management into a "prevention loop" thus reducing dependence on herbicides for stand tending.