Silvology

Study of forests and woodlands biology

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Silvology (Latin: silva or sylva, "forests and woods"; Ancient Greek: -λογία, -logia, "science of" or "study of") is the biological science of studying forests and woodlands, incorporating the understanding of natural forest ecosystems, and the effects and development of silvicultural practices. The term complements silviculture, which deals with the art and practice of forest management.^[1]

Silvology is seen as a single science for forestry and was first used by Professor Roelof A.A. Oldeman at Wageningen University. ^[2] It integrates the study of forests and forest ecology, dealing with single tree autecology and natural forest ecology.

Relationship with dendrology and other terms

Arboriculture is the management of individual trees.
Dendrology is the study of woody plants, a branch of botany.
Forestry is the management of forests and woods.
Horticulture is the culture of plants.
Silviculture concerns the culture of forests and woods.

Noted silvologists

References

^ Hemery, G.; Skovsgaard, J. P. (April 2018). "Silvology: Redefining the Biological Science for the Study of Forests". Quarterly Journal of Forestry. 112 (2): 128–31.
^ Oldeman, R. A. A. (1990). Forests: elements of silvology. Berlin: Springer-Verlag. p. 624. ISBN 0-387-51883-5.