• Sypitkowski, Eben
  

One primary goal of silviculture is to perpetuate and increase the proportion of desirable species on the landscape through the profitable removal of products (Smith et al. 1997). If a desirable regeneration outcomes are to be realized, attention must be paid to the silvics of the trees species (Westveld 1938). Silvics have been shaped over evolutionary time by regional disturbance regimes (Rowland & White 2010). Therefore, achieving effective natural regeneration can be enhanced by emulating the natural disturbance regime to which a species is adapted (Seymour et al. 2002). The Acadian Forest is typified by the spruce-fir (Picea rubens--Abies balsamea) and northern hardwood (Acer saccharum, Fagus grandifolia, Betula alleghaniensis) forest types. Though other types occur, spruce-fir and northern hardwood types make up the majority of the 6.9 million hectares of commercial forestland in Maine (Powell and Dickson 1984). This forest is defined by the range of red spruce and is a transitional zone between the central hardwood region and the boreal forest (Seymour 1992). Forest regeneration is generally achieved through natural means (MFS 2010).