Trees that have been felled.
A patch cut is a forestry or forest regeneration practice that involves the removal of all trees in a block or patch of less than 2.5 acres (1 hectare) of a forest system. Patch cutting is a variation of the larger and more controversial clean cutting practice with several distinct advantages. A patch cut creates less visual and environmental impact in forested areas, is easier to manage, and has several regeneration benefits common to other less flexible cutting practices. Patch cuts are usually made in stands of trees of equal age and, although they usually form a group of harvested areas, they are managed individually as separate openings or cuts.
Forestry is a forest industry practice focused on the renewal of harvested forest resources. The basic principles involve control of tree density, growth rates and general stand health, as well as the composition of the tree stock in any given area. An essential part of forestry from a forestry point of view is how the tree stock is harvested.
Clear felling is one of the silvicultural practices that has become the subject of debate due to the extensive deforestation involved. It involves the non-selective felling of all, or at least most, of the trees in a forested area. This has obvious effects on local ecosystems due to the massive destruction of natural habitats, in addition to the inescapable aesthetic effect of large-scale landscape denudation. Partial felling, while technically a variation of clearcutting, is a much less invasive method of harvesting timber with very low latency for forests in general.
Patch cutting involves the complete removal of all trees in a forest area that are 1 hectare or larger. Not only does this create fewer visual disturbances, it can also preserve the habitat in its entirety. Once the trees have been felled, the rejuvenation process can be managed using natural or artificial methods, such as seeding or planting new trees. A patch cut also allows the regeneration process to focus on shade-tolerant tree species, which is usually only possible with selective cutting systems. However, patch cuts are easier to clean and rejuvenate than selective cuts, due to the complete removal of trees, creating new growth of equal ages.
Individual patch areas will normally be part of a series of clean areas at the same time. However, each of them is treated as an individual cut or deforestation, which allows a better overall control of the different forest areas. Patch harvesting has the added benefit of having minimal impact on the overall biodiversity of any forest area. As a timber practice, it also creates less potential for soil erosion and flooding.