Silviculture research
Last updated on February 24, 2026
Silviculture is broadly defined as the art and science of growing and caring for forests to achieve a variety of goals. Silviculture practices and policy are informed by applied research, which has been conducted in British Columbia since 1928.
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​Benefits of research
Forests can live a long time and face evolving challenges due to climate change, forest health factors, and other disturbances. Growing and caring for forests in an evolving environment requires research to address knowledge gaps and to continuously improve our stewardship.
Research conducted in B.C. through experimental projects, and the data we collect at regular intervals, are critical assets that provide a wealth of information to inform forest stewardship and guidance on how to manage forests for multiple values, such as growth and yield of trees, biodiversity, carbon dynamics, ecosystem function, forest health, soils, vegetation, wildlife habitat, and wildfire resilience.
Ministry of Forest researchers publish technical reports, land management handbooks and extensions notes focusing on a variety of silviculture topics.
Search for research by topic or author to read publications.
​Experimental projects
In silviculture research, experimental projects can start with the initiation of a new forest (e.g., planting density), be focused on interventions that occur while the forest grows from small trees to intermediate ages (e.g., pre-commercial (or juvenile) spacing, pruning), and towards maturity (e.g., commercial thinning, fertilization).
Silvicultural systems research conducted in experimental projects takes a much broader perspective. This research investigates stand development pathway from stand initiation to harvesting and uses different interventions and harvesting methods (e.g., shelterwood, single tree or group selection, variable retention). These projects are highly collaborative, involve multiple values and treatments, and remain in our care for many decades to a century.
Research topics
Experimental projects focus on both specific and general silviculture practices and interventions. The research subjects included: