Agriculture and Agribusiness

Plantation Forestry and Silviculture

A forester makes decisions whose results arrive twenty years later, which removes almost all feedback and means the errors compound quietly through a whole rotation. This course covers making them well. Delegates work through site species matching, because planting the wrong species on a site is a mistake that cannot be corrected without starting again. Site preparation and establishment follow, including spacing, planting quality and the first year survival that sets the stand. Blanking and early tending are covered. Weed competition control is addressed as the single largest determinant of early growth. Pruning is covered for clear timber production, with the timing and severity that decide knot core. Thinning follows: why, when, how heavily, and the stand density management that balances volume against piece size. Mean annual increment and rotation age are covered as the economic decision they are. Inventory, plot measurement and yield estimation follow. The course closes on records, on stand registers and on planning a rotation that a successor can continue.