ETYM Cf. Old Fren. foresterie.
The science of planting and caring for forests and the management of growing timber.
The science of forest management. Recommended forestry practice aims at multipurpose crops, allowing the preservation of varied plant and animal species as well as human uses (lumbering, recreation). Forestry has often been confined to the planting of a single species, such as a rapid-growing conifer providing softwood for paper pulp and construction timber, for which world demand is greatest. In tropical countries, logging contributes to the destruction of rainforests, causing global environmental problems. Small unplanned forests are woodland.
The earliest planned forest dates from 1368 at Nuremberg, Germany; in Britain, planning of forests began in the 16th century. In the UK, Japan, and other countries, forestry practices have been criticized for concentration on softwood conifers to the neglect of native hardwoods.