Forestry
Forestry is the
science and practice of studying and managing
forests and their
natural resources. Much research and development has been invested in improving varieties of trees for commercial use and in better methods of planting, pest control, thinning, felling, and extraction and of processing
timber into usable products. In most countries the timber
industry is of major
economic importance. The science of managing forests for its many uses is called
silviculture.
Growing concerns about environmental problems arising from massive deforestation (especially in the rain forests) have recently put forestry and its implications into the spotlight.