A re-appraisal of Irish silvicultural practices.

Abstract

To look at Irish silvicultural practices today, it is necessary to look at their history to see how and why they have developed as they have . The requirements for timber in the British Isles over the past few centuries have primarily been for structural purposes, or for fuel for smelting, and concentrated almost entirely on the growing of hardwoods. During the 18th and 19th centuries Britain was able to supply from her colonies, structural hardwoods that were cheaper and more plentiful than could be produced at home. This coupled with an expansion of agricultural lands and the high demand for home timber for smelting caused a dimunition of the afforested area in Britain and Ireland...