Jean-Guy Bertault

• French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development

La controverse entre les tenants de l'aménagement des forêts tropicales comme un des moyens de sa conservation et ceux de la conservation pure et simple est toujours d'actualité. Une exploitation forestière compatible avec le maintien et le renouvellement de la ressource valorise les forêts tropicales et pourrait contribuer à sa protection contre u...

In tropical forest, logging operations are basically defined by a single and very simple rule: the Minimum Diameter Cutting Limit (MDCL). Because mixed dipterocarp forests exhibit a relatively high density of timber species (10 to 20 trees/ha), the MDCL rule leads to high felling intensities. Field experiments in East Kalimantan showed that under s...

In East Kalimantan (Indonesia), impacts of conventional (CNV) and reduced-impact logging (RIL) on forest ecosystems were compared on the basis of pre- and post-harvesting stand inventories. There was a positive and significant correlation between the proportion of trees damaged by felling and the density of trees felled. Logging intensity ranged fr...

Timber harvesting was investigated both in terms of commercial timber volume extracted and impact on residual stand. Conventional (CNV) and reduced impact logging (RIL) techniques were compared on the basis of pre- and post-harvesting stand inventories. The timber volume extracted averaged 87 m3 ha−1 and the resulting commercial volume was 46 m3 ha...

This article examines the silvicultural options available to the forest manager by reviewing the results of research on plantation and natural forest dynamics. It examines existing knowledge on the behaviour, growth, regeneration and mortality of natural tree stands in relation to human impacts: logging for timber, thinning for improvement, acciden...