I don't know a whole lot about this, but I seem to recall James Scott discussing the first attempts at "scientific forestry" in the 19th century in Prussia. This is in the book Seeing Like a State (warning, that is a link to the full pdf of the book).

These are the forests where you see rows and rows of trees, perfectly arranged (I assume this is what you mean by "plantation forests"). They were developed primarily as a source of wood for fuel, and for reasons that I cannot recall, they were not terribly successful, as harvests would decline in succeeding generations. If I recall correctly, this was the beginning of what we would think of as forestry, i.e. professional cultivation of the forest for resources, as opposed to felling on an as needed basis.

Either way, I highly recommend the book. One of the maybe three best books I read in graduate school.

EDIT: Yeah, the parts about forestry start on page 11, so it's right up front. Happy reading!