Marteloscopes au service de la sylviculture proche de la nature

Marteloscopes in the service of close-to-nature silviculture In Switzerland, close-to-nature silviculture is recognised as strategically important. It is part of the management principles prescribed in Article 20 of the Federal Act on Forests. The implementation of this type of silviculture is based on a holistic understanding of the forest, which is considered both as a complex habitat and as a multifunctional production system. Marking is the core activity of forest management. It is an integrative decision-making act at the interface between planning and timber harvesting. Since 2011, the silvicultural department in Lyss has been using marteloscopes for training purposes. They are valued as didactic tools and enable practice of a forest management that is carried out in accordance with the overarching legal objectives of sustainability, naturalness and multifunctionality. Thanks to the georeferencing of the trees and the recording of their characteristics, it is possible to compare the various marking proposals visually and quantitatively. The marteloscope exercises, carried out in a spirit of healthy competition, are one of the pillars of the training of forest professionals.