What is aggregated tree harvesting?
The website of the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations (Canada) defines aggregated harvesting as: “Concentrating a higher volume of timber harvesting in a smaller area. The alternative is spreading out harvest in lower volumes over a larger area.” Rather than simple partial cutting or selective cutting, it appears this pattern of harvesting would make it possible to tailor the cutting to the landscape, perhaps in order to minimize impacts on wildlife. Klenner at al. (ref 2) talk about using aggregated harvesting “to reduce fragmentation and maintain a diverse range of patch sizes”. It’s easy to imagine how this would be beneficial, rather than simply harvesting in a checkerboard pattern, which would leave uniform, square islands of uncut forest.
