Epsilon Archive for Student Projects

Abstract

Swedish forestry is under pressure to adapt to an increasing demand for Continuous Cover Forestry methods both from policy level decisions, as well as from private forest owners. A growing amount of evidence suggests the potential of CCF methods to increase biodiversity and provide higher social values in forests when compared to Rotation Forestry. However, implementation of CCF is partly to be understood as a communications issue. As new practices set new demands on forest professionals, mutual understanding regarding new goals and objectives can only come about through different processes of communication. To generate an example of and understand already existing practices during CCF work processes, this thesis examines the ongoing implementation of CCF in large scale forestry management in Southern Sweden through a single-case study. Data was collected through qualitative interviews with forest machine operators and forest managers and analysed through thematic analysis. Results show a that the same system used for Rotation Forestry practices is applied but used differently. That is, a system of communication where one-way and two-way communication coexist, but with greater reliance on direct contact through verbal and visual communication combined with well-established channels of written instructions during current CCF work processes. This is understood as a response to the equivocality associated with implementing new practices, such as CCF, and that reducing that equivocality requires both technical and organizational adaptation. However, this is also a sign of a method under development, where communication through iterative feedback processes shape both the work process and the forest structure outcome.