Comprehensive studies of forest ecology improve our understanding of how forest ecosystems function and our ability to design sustainable silvicultural practices that maximize the ecosystem services provided by forest ecosystems. Three case studies are presented to show sustainable management practices derived from studies dealing with forest ecology. In tropical regions, large amounts of fertilizers are needed to sustain the productivity of eucalypt plantations. Improved understanding of rooting patterns in deep soil layers as well as the nutrient demands of trees and the geochemical processes controlling the fluxes of nutrients in gravitational soil solutions made it possible to reduce the cost of fertilization at large scale in Brazil by refining the timing of application needed. In coastal rainforests of British Columbia, ecological studies of old-growth forests elucidated the proximate and ultimate causes of growth check and poor nutrient supply in regenerating forests. As a result, silvicultural interventions can be focused on the causes rather than the symptoms of the regeneration problem. In temperate forests of North America, ecologists have demonstrated the importance of early successional forest habitat for sustaining biodiversity, while also incorporating legacy structures that provide habitat for other species. (Texte intégral)