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For those managing forests, contemporary biodiversity challenges require us to think more broadly about the past, consider what actions or processes produced the forests we now have, and evaluate post‐treatment conditions of forest structure, composition, and function. The forest ecology literature is replete with studies that suggest that when forest management activities become more focused on outputs, whether timber products or wildlife population objectives, variability and complexity that drive stand‐level biodiversity are lost. In response, ecological forestry (or "new forestry") has become increasing applied to public and private forest lands, with the following precepts: 1) context—the importance of planning and management at larger (landscape) spatial scales; 2) continuity—the maintenance of forest structure, function, and biota between pre‐ and post-harvest ecosystems; 3) complexity—the need to create and maintain structural and compositional complexity and biological diversity, including spatial heterogeneity at multiple spatial scales; and 4) timing—the importance of applying silvicultural treatments at ecologically appropriate time intervals. For more, see Franklin et al. 2018 Ecological Forest Management. Waveland Press and Palik et al. 2020 Ecological Silviculture. Waveland Press.
"Management approach that provides an understanding of the structure, function, and dynamics of natural forest ecosystems to achieve integrated environmental, economic, and social outcomes (Palik et al. 2020)."
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