A knowledge of forest site and forest productivity variables is
fundamental to sound forest practice everywhere. The ability to identify
sites and site problems correctly and manipulate productivity variables
for maintenance or improvement of productivity is the basis of modern
forest management. Although the basic facts regarding forest site and
productivity apply throughout the world, the application of information
and the response to manipulation vary greatly and depend on local forest
conditions. The September 1981 World Congress of the International Union
of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) in Kyoto, Japan was the
occasion for the special meeting on Forest Site and Productivity
sponsored by the IUFRO Site Group Sl.02. This meeting brought together
forest site and productivity researchers from across the world to review
current thought and the state of site research. Information not
ordinarily available in one place was presented at this meeting. As
organizer of the session, I decided to attempt to publish the papers in
one volume. Arrangements were made with a publisher, Martinus Nijhoff,
and also with the authors. The process of publication has taken longer
than desirable, but the volume does appear at an opportune time
coincident with the 1986 IUFRO World Congress in Yugoslavia. Material
contained in this publication will set the stage for Site Group
discussions at the 1986 meeting. This volume assembles the thought of
forest research workers from many different countries and therefore many
different kinds of forests.
