Systemic silviculture: philosophical, epistemological and methodological aspects

Abstract

The awareness that the forest is a complex biological system, indispensable to life on Earth, suggests radical changes in the scientific approach and cultural references and a new forest vision. This paper examines the theory of systemic silviculture from a philosophical, epistemological, methodological and practical point of view. The first part analyzes the main theories regarding the man-nature relationship, the definition of a «third way», the scientific paradigm and the problem of complexity. In the second part, theoretical and technical characters of systemic silviculture are presented.