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Forest design principles

There are several reasons for introducing diversity into the forest landscape:

• Biodiversity – creating a variety of habitats

• Economic – extending species and age spread to maximises the range of potential timber products in an evolving market…

Diversity

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Forest design principles

• Climatic change – introducing species diversity to reduce risk to disease and insect damage, limit fire hazard

• Structural stability – increasing the percentage of continuous cover will maintain canopy cover, reducing the impact of extreme climatic events

• ‘Achieving Diversity in Scotland’s Forest Landscapes’ (FCS Practice Guide).

Diversity

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Forest design principles

Visual diversity refers to the number of different elements in a landscape or in a forest

Visually diverse forests are usually more visually appealing, but the level of diversity should be appropriate to:

• The landscape character

• How the forest is used.

Visual diversity

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Forest design principles

Visual diversity

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Forest design principles

Visual diversity

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Forest design principles

We have already looked briefly at how diversity of open space and species pattern can be used to reflect landform shape and landscape scale.

Visual diversity

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Forest design principles

Visual diversity

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Forest design principles

Visual diversity

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Forest design principles

We will now look more closely at how visual diversity can be used in forest design

What sort of existing features of the landscape can we use to add visual diversity to a forest?

Visual diversity

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Forest design principles

Visual diversity: Existing features

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Forest design principles

Visual diversity: Existing features

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Forest design principles

Visual diversity: Internal landscape and features

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Forest design principles

Visual diversity: Open space

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Forest design principles

Visual diversity: Species

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Forest design principles

Visual diversity: Age structure

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Forest design principles

Visual diversity: Age structure

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Forest design principles

Visual diversity: Density

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Forest design principles

Visual diversity: Appropriateness

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Forest design principles

Visual diversity: Appropriateness

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Forest design principles

Visual diversity: Appropriateness

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Forest design principles

Visual diversity: Appropriateness

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Forest design principles

Visual diversity: Appropriateness

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Forest design principles

Visual diversity: Appropriateness

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Forest design principles

Visual diversity: Appropriateness

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Forest design principles

Visual diversity

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Forest design principles

Visual diversity

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Forest design principles

Visual diversity, scale and shape

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Forest design principles

Visual diversity, scale and shape

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Forest design principles

Visual diversity, scale and shape

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Workshop 3

Identify and explore options for introducing visual diversity into your new planting proposal to reflect the scale of the landscape and how it changes

Sketch a species pattern which also reflects what you have learnt about shape and scale.

Visual diversity