Forestry Focus

Silviculture of species

SILVICULTURE OF SPECIES

Begining from a situation where only less than 1.5% of the land area of Ireland was forested at the turn of the 20th century, early foresters had little or no experience in afforesting the type of land that was available for forestry. Through trial and error, however, much knowledge was gained on finding tree species that were suitable for the different site types encountered in this country. This knowledge was built on through observation, scientific experimentation and practical experience and has been captured in the publication titled “A guide to forest tree species selection and silviculture in Ireland”.  This is a comprehensive guide to growing forest tree species in Ireland giving information on the most suitable soils and site types for all of the major and most of the minor species planted. Complementing this book is the recent publication “Broadleaf Forestry in Ireland”.  Written by Juergen Huss, Padraic Joyce, Richard MacCarthy and John Fennessy it provides well researched and up-to-date silvicultural information and guidance for the production of high quality hardwood timber. This book is available on request  from Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine.