Forests have to be protected from a number of threats in order to provide their benefits to the environment and society. These threats include:
- insects
- diseases
- extreme weather events
- damage from animals that eat foliage and small twigs
- forest fires
All of these threats are a natural and necessary part of the forest ecosystem and do not have a significant impact on the forest when they occur on a small scale. When they occur over large areas or in very valuable stands, they can cause serious losses to the productivity of the managed forest. In these situations, some form of protection may be required.
Protection from these natural threats can be provided through appropriate levels of management planning and silvicultural practices. For example, regenerating forests with a mixture of species using genetically superior seed or seedlings and maintaining optimum spacing can help reduce the impact of insects and diseases.
Until recently, forest fire protection was carried out whenever there was a threat to human life, private property or large financial investments. Now fires in more remote areas are assessed for their risks to these values, recognizing the important role of fire in forest ecology. If the risk to human life, private property or large financial investments is significant, then fire protection measures are undertaken. Otherwise, nature is allowed to run its course.
