Vegetation structure, logging damage and silviculture in a tropical rain forest in Suriname

In the first publication in this series, a polycyclic forest management system was formulated, in which three silvicultural treatments (refinements) were scheduled in a cutting cycle of twenty years. This system, which is referred to as the Celos Silvicultural System, is developed further in this study.Selective logging is the first action of forest management. Felling limits for most species need to be raised from 35 cm to 50 cm dbh to secure future harvests. If carried out properly, logging does not cause unacceptable damage to the stand. The forest responds to logging with a slow recovery process and a refinement is scheduled one to two years after felling to release commercial species. This treatment consists of cutting lianas and poison-girdling trees without commercial value, which are either larger than 40 cm dbh or 20 - 40 cm dbh and within 10 m of a commercial tree. A second treatment is necessary ten years after the initial harvest and the third one is scheduled a few years before the second cut. These follow-up treatments differ from the first one in the selection of trees to be poison-girdled.