Soil and Sustainable Forest Productivity: A Preamble

S is FUNDAMENTAL to the affairs of mankind. Since the first experiment s of Nicholas of Cusa in the early 15th century, advances in soil and plant science have hastene d social progres through the production of food, fuel, and shelter . Knowledge of soil and plant interactions aided the revolution in domesti c agriculture and the dramati c rise in the land' s capacit y to meet our daily needs. Sustainabl e agriculture is seen as "a given" in most developed nations of the world. But concept s of scientific forestry and sustained forest productivity have a shorter history. They began in central Europe in the late 18th century in respons e to accelerate d harvesting in the period of the Industrial Revolution. Concept s of allowable cut and sustained yield took form and then spread rapidly to other regions of Europe. During the 1870s, concerns over extensive forest clearing reached our easter n shores, triggering a conservation movement in both the USA and Canada that solidified by the early 20th century. Forged from this were the American Forestr y Association, Canadian Forestr y Association, Societ y of American Foresters , Canadian Institute of Forestry, and the Forest Services of both the USA and Canada. An ethic had evolved that forests shoul d be managed in ways that wil l benefi t generations beyond our own. Yet, strong voices debat e whether modern forestry can sustai n our future needs. The controversy began with the rise of the environmenta l movement in the mid-1950s, a growing distrust of technology, and a change in the way that forests were seen by society. Consequently , sizabl e tracts of forests have been and are being reserved for purposes other than traditional wood production.