Close-to-nature management as a key to more resilient and multifunctional forests
Jonathan Spazzi, Teagasc Forestry Development Department
“I want our forest to produce quality timber and give us personal satisfaction, while leaving a special biodiversity legacy for our children. That is why I have chosen a close-to-nature management approach,” says Liam Bresnan.
From the right: Liam Bresnan with daughter Aoife and son in law Colm.
How can a private tree plantation forest in Ireland be transformed into a multifunctional forest? I’d like to share the story of Liam and Helen Bresnan with you, who own and manage a 22-ha farm forest in County Limerick. The forest was planted in 1999 and comprises both broadleaves and conifers. Liam and his family are very hands-on in the management of their forest.
He and his family greatly value their forest resource and spend a good deal of time in it. Helen and Liam, along with their daughter Aoife and her husband Colm, all live next to the forest, which their children use for play. Liam’s son Lee, and son-in law Colm often join forces with him, as all enjoy helping tend the forest.
Over the years, they have hosted several open days for forest owners, assisted by the local Teagasc Forestry advisory service, to help share and disseminate best practices in close-to-nature management. That is also how we met.
Why close-to-nature forest management?
Forests in Ireland and beyond are increasingly valued, not only for their timber products but also for their potential to deliver diverse ecosystem services, including biodiversity, water regulation, and recreation. Equally important is their ability to offset greenhouse gas emissions by sequestering carbon into their biomass, timber products and the soil. Recent National and EU forest policies increasingly promote close-to-nature management as a means to enhance forest resilience in response to climatic challenges, helping to sustain production and ensure the continued delivery of ecosystem services essential for societal wellbeing.
In Ireland, sheltered sites of moderate elevation with free-draining soils are often the most suitable for initiating forest transformation of young plantations into permanent, diverse, multifunctional forests through a careful thinning process. This approach generally requires greater management input than for clear-fell forestry.
What Liam needs for the forest transformation
To support the transformation management of Irish plantations, the Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine (DAFM) introduced a pilot scheme in 2019. This scheme offers three support payments as part of a 12-year transformation plan for mixed-species plantations. (For more details, see the Woodland Improvement Scheme provided by Teagasc).
Liam applied for this new scheme to assist him through the early transformation period for a 10-ha mixed section of spruce/broadleaves trees in his forest. The grant approval and felling license were secured in 2019. The family put a plan of action in place for 2020 in consultation with Sean Ryan, a local forestry contractor, and Padraig O’Tuama, a private forestry consultant and member of ProSilva Ireland.
The initial transformation work began in 2020. This included selecting and marking of quality trees for retention; selecting and marking trees for removal; thinning spruce and broadleaf trees; and under-planting with small groups of additional broadleaf species such as oak, beech and sycamore.
Timber harvesting using conventional machinery at Liam’s forest.
The local forestry contractor Sean carried out the last two thinnings of the spruce section using conventional forestry machinery. Early thinning is very important as it offers an opportunity to remove inferior trees, allowing the remaining trees to develop. It also promotes rooting for long-term stability against wind and can have a very positive impact on species diversity and habitat diversification for biodiversity.
Although Sean was unfamiliar with this management approach, he remarked “This approach is new to me, but the fact that trees are marked with paint makes it easier for the operator. Poor quality, larger trees come out first. This helps as it results in a good proportion of higher value logs, improving harvesting efficiency.” He added, “For us, it was straightforward, and I look forward to coming back for the next thinning and seeing the whole process develop.”
Unlike conventional spruce thinning, where removal focuses on smaller, poorer quality trees, transformation thinning initially removes large, lower quality trees. This approach improves short-term thinning economics while facilitating the development of commercial sawlog by retaining the best quality trees. This way, Liam and his family will ensure high value and a high proportion of sawlog from later selective harvesting operations. Liam and Colm carried out additional chainsaw thinning of the broadleaf trees, as well as all high-pruning and small-scale planting with additional broadleaves for diversity.
The final step was the completion of a forest survey to provide information on how the forest in changing for future transformation management. If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it: the success of the system relies on regular observation, review and active management.
When we spoke recently, Liam said he is happy with the progress to date: “The work is progressing well, and the forest is being thinned carefully. I am happy with the thinning returns, and I can see the value of the forest increasing with every thinning. The forest is also becoming brighter and more diverse, with lots of natural regeneration already emerging. I think the additional diversity will help with the future resilience of the forest, allowing it to remain productive and a beautiful place for my family to enjoy”.
Greater tree species diversity emerging following 3 transformation thinning interventions in the young spruce stand.
| Operation | Year | Age | Volume Tonnes/ha | Pulp | Stake | Small saw log | Sawlog |
| First thin | 2017 | 17 | 50 | 60% | 10% | 30% | – |
| Second Thinn | 2020 | 20 | 48 | 47% | – | 53% | – |
| Third thin | 2024 | 24 | 52 | 47% | – | 33% | 20% |
While the volume harvested at each thinning has remained the same (approx. 50 tonnes/ha) the value of the timber removed has progressively increases and so the value of the remaining standing trees.
Biodiversity impact of the transformation
Aoife, Liam’s daughter, also noticed a greater amount of wildlife moving into the forest following recent interventions. ”We now have plenty of red squirrels, barn owls and buzzards living in the forest, as well as lots of frogs and more wetland birds since we developed additional ponds in the forest”.
However, a recent biodiversity survey conducted in Liam’s forest using the Index for Biodiversity Potential (IBP) survey methodology revealed that the biodiversity level in this forest is still quite low. The IBP survey methodology was developed in France and is currently being implemented in several other European countries. (For more information, see the IBP Index for Biodiversity Potential).
In particular, the low presence of native species, the lack of large trees, and the scarcity of standing and lying deadwood are here the main limiting factors. These are areas where management will need to focus more on the coming years to increase the biodiversity potential of this forest and, consequently, its overall potential resilience.
Forest-MOOC-For-Change
In addition to the changes he implemented in his own family forest, Liam was recently involved in the creation of a new pan-European online educational platform: ‘Forest-Mooc-For-Change’ – the first free Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on close-to-nature management, also known as continuous cover forest management (CCF).
Watch this video to meet Liam and his family in their forest!
Forest-Mooc-For-Change is a new educational project co-financed by the European Union, coordinated by four European forestry development agencies involved in close-to-nature forestry development: Teagasc Forestry Development Department in Ireland, ANW in Germany, Pro Silva France, and Forêt-Nature in Belgium (lead partner).
This new interactive educational tool went live in October 2023 and aims to facilitate transformation of forests towards integrated and close-to-nature forest management systems, promoting production of quality wood, biodiversity, ecosystem services and greater resilience. The eight-week course is available in three languages (French, German and English), is self-paced, and includes 74 tutorial videos, online quizzes and exercises to carry out in the forest. During the project, running between 2023 and 2024, a live session every two weeks allowed participants to ask questions regarding topics covered.
An example of the filming process and video tutorial, where we meet private forest owners in Ireland and share on the progress of their family forest transformation journey, form plantation to a multipurpose close-to-nature forest.
After viewing the videos and successfully completing the quizzes and exercises, participants received a certificate and approved a ‘charter of commitment’ to use and further develop their knowledge and understanding of CCF. Over 12,000 learners took the training course in 2023/2024, with over 2,500 certificates achieved. By demonstrating how forest transformation practices and management tools can be applied, the course provides innovative ways to enhance the capacity of forest owners and managers to adopt integrated management systems in their forests, thereby initiating long-term societal change.
The Forest-Mooc-For-Change online training has also worked well in combination with Teagasc Marteloscope forest workshops, and this synergy will be further expanded in the coming years.
Given the continued interest in the Forest-Mooc-For-Change, the course has now been reopened until December 2024.
Go to the Forest-Mooc-For-Change website to register for the free online course – and transform your forest like Liam did – to promote biodiversity and other ecosystem services, and increase forest resilience!
