A study on the management of a forest for amenity (I)

Abstract

Studies or thoughts on the management of an ‘aesthetic forest’ have so far been characterized by their having two weak points. 1) They have tried to set up purely conceptual models for aesthetic forests with little regard to the actual transactions between a man and a forest. This has mainly caused the tendency to limit the amenity of a forest only to its visual or picturesque quality. 2) Their principles as to timber crop in an aesthetic forest have been polarized into two extremes. On the one hand, the production of timber is justified under a preposition that the felling program should be perfectly in accord with the beauty of the forest. On the other hand, the ideal objective of an aesthetic forest is a preserved forest in which any felling is forbidden.
We believe that the crop of timber should be taken into account even in an aesthetic forest, but the landscape design should not be restricted by a forest management system which only regulates a timber yield. The Method of Control will be the most effective solution for this specific requirement. Through the application of the method, real freedom of design for forest amenity can be assured. We developed a technique of design upon an assumption that we can apply the Method of Control for a forest for amenity.