What is the benefit of harvesting trees by selective cutting rather than clear cutting?

Clear-cutting is usually quicker and cheaper than selective cutting. It may also be safer for the loggers. Clear-cutting can damage the environment and the soil where the trees were cut. The soil is exposed to wind and rain.

Hereof, what is the difference between clear cutting and selective cutting?

Clear-cutting is the process of cutting down all trees in an area of forest at once. With selective cutting, only some of the trees in an area of forest are cut down at any one time. The next time, a different age group or species of tree in the forest is harvested.

Subsequently, question is, what are the benefits of selective cutting? Some of the advantages of selective cutting are:

It supports more varieties of wildlife.
It is more resistant to disease and insect manifestations.
It leaves a lighter ecological footprint.
It creates a more natural-looking forest stand after harvesting.

Also Know, what are the pros and cons of clear cutting and selective cutting when harvesting lumber?

Pro: Financial Reasons. Clearcutting advocates argue that the method is the most efficient for both harvesting and replanting trees.
Con: Effects on Plant and Wildlife.
Pro: Increased Water Flow.
Con: Loss of Recreation Land.
Pro: Increased Farmland.

Why might selective logging be considered preferable to clear cutting?

Selective logging is often considered a better alternative to clear cutting in which a large area of a forest is cut down, leaving little behind except wood debris and a deforested landscape. The ecological, social, and economic impacts drive a better understanding of efficient forest management techniques.

36 Related Question Answers Found

Who does clear cutting positive impact?

Clearcutting pros: It creates wide, open spaces with lots of sun exposure. This allows the most sunlight to reach tree seedlings that require full-sun conditions to thrive. Clearcutting also creates forest clearings that are habitat for some species of songbirds, deer and elk.

What are the disadvantages of selective cutting?

Some of the disadvantages are that some species may not regenerate quickly, and thinning the forest may lead to increased damage from ice, storms or fires. One of the biggest advantages of selective cutting is that the overall ecological impact on the forest is reduced.

What are 3 Consequences of clear cutting?

Clearcutting may lead to increased stream flow during storms, loss of habitat and species diversity, opportunities for invasive and weedy species, and negative impacts on scenery, as well as a decrease in property values; diminished recreation, hunting, and fishing opportunities.

What are the negative effects of clear cutting?

Clearcutting Impacts

Negatively impacts water quality and quantity – Clearcutting and the logging roads created to service clearcuts can increase erosion of sediments into creeks and rivers, clouding waters and reducing water quality for fish habitat and human consumption.

Is clear cutting sustainable?

Clear cutting is not necessary, nor is it practical. Logging should instead be done using methods that create sustainable yield--which ensures that no more is harvested than can be naturally replenished (Dadd).

Is selective cutting good?

Selective Cutting as a Tool of Sustainable Forestry

When practiced correctly, selective cutting has the following benefits. Removes trees that are low quality while they are young. Removes some of the profitable mature growth. Allows more light to penetrate the upper story of growth.

Why is clear cutting cheaper?

Forestry companies prefer clear-cutting because it is the cheapest and most efficient way of harvesting timber. It is much easier to move logs and equipment from a bare area than from among standing trees. Clear-cutting enables forest operators to get the most out of a forest for the lowest cost.

Does clear cutting cause erosion?

Clearcutting does not cause soil erosion. That is caused by poorly laid out road systems, whether the forest is clearcut or partially cut. Clearcutting can be done without significant erosion or sedimentation if roads are planned and built correctly using accepted best management practices (BMP's) to protect streams.

Why is clear cut so criticized in the US?

Logging companies do not clearcut just because it is the most economical way to harvest timber. In fact, many loggers dislike clearcutting because it forces them to spend time and money cutting trees they have no use for.

What is a clearing in a forest called?

In the most general sense, a glade or clearing is an open area within a forest. In the central United States, the term "glade" is used more specifically to describe rocky, prairie-like habitats that occur in areas of shallow soil.

What are the pros and cons of logging?

Logging gives us the wood we need for various things, the most important of which is building houses. The con is environmental. Logging destroys forests. It reduces the amount of animal habitat and it reduces the number of trees that can take carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.

What is the disadvantage of logging?

The disadvantages to deforestation are an increased amount of carbon dioxide emissions and soil erosion as well as the destruction of forest habitat and the loss of biological diversity of both plants and animals.

What are the major advantages and disadvantages of clear cutting forests?

What are the major advantages and disadvantages of clear cutting forests? Advanages- Most efficient and often the least costly way to harvest trees, higher timber yield, maximum profits in shortest time, can reforest with fast growing trees.

What are the advantages of shelterwood cutting?

The advantage with this method is that the overstory trees are not removed until the regeneration is established, providing a measure of insurance. It also requires multiple entries, and is more aesthetically pleasing than clearcutting. It works well with species that are intolerant to moderately tolerant of shade.

Does cutting down trees cause flooding?

Deforestation plays many roles in the flooding equation because trees prevent sediment runoffs and forests hold more water than farms or grasslands. The flood equation is simple. If a river cannot handle the load of water it is required to carry, it will rise above its banks. This is when floods occur.

What do illegal loggers do?

Illegal logging is the harvesting, processing, transporting, buying or selling of timber in contravention of national and international laws. It has a devastating impact on some of the world's most valuable remaining forests, and on the people who live in them and rely on the resources that forests provide.

What is an alternative for clear cutting timber that leaves the forest ecosystem largely intact?

Selective logging—the practice of removing one or two trees and leaving the rest intact—is often considered a sustainable alternative to clear-cutting, in which a large swath of forest is cut down, leaving little behind except wood debris and a denuded landscape.