What was reduced in scientific forestry?

Correct answer: Diversity of natural mixed forests

The direct answer is A: scientific forestry reduced the diversity of natural mixed forests. Scientific forestry aimed at planned, regular production of commercially useful timber. Officials often cleared natural forests and planted one selected species in straight, managed blocks. Such a plantation might produce a predictable timber crop, but it contains fewer kinds of trees, plants, animals, and habitats than a natural mixed forest. Option A is correct because it identifies the loss of biological variety. Option B is wrong because scientific forestry generally increased government supervision and control rather than reducing it. Option C is wrong because the forest department was an important institution that administered these policies. Option D is wrong because commercial forestry was designed to serve timber demand, not to reduce it. The reasoning is: natural mixed forest has many species; single-species planting has fewer species; fewer species means reduced diversity. This does not mean every managed forest had exactly one species, but the textbook contrast makes A the correct choice. Memory cue: “scientific forestry often meant uniform trees, less natural variety.”