Еxperience of maidenhair tree cultivation (Ginkgo biloba L.) in the dendrological park “Berezynka” of Mukachevo state forestry

An inventory of the only in Ukraine ginkgo biloba stand, created by planting forest crops in the arboretum «Berezynka». The distribution of tree trunks by thickness and statistical characteristics by diameter are given, the degree of defoliation and sanitary condition of ginkgo biloba stand are determined. The obtained results can be used to model the forest mesuration structure and merchantable volume structure of future ginkgo biloba stands during its plantation cultivation. The results of the study indicate the high resistance of the species to environmental factors in the region, which makes it possible to recommend this relict species for implementation in forestry practice.

Economic Availability of Forest Resources in Russia: An Analytical Assessment

The topic of the availability of forest resources is especially relevant for Russia, given the volume of the existing potential of these resources, distributed over a huge area of the country. The purpose of the article is to substantiate the possibilities of using the economic availability of forest resources in the practice of forestry in the Russian Federation. The article presents an analysis of the application of tools based on the economic availability of forest resources. It presents the classification of the forms of forest resources availability and analysis of possible situations that may occur assessing the economic availability of forest resources. The authors analyzed various methods of assessing the economic availability of forest wood resources, formed a criterion of economic availability and considered various conditions of economic availability. The results of calculations of economic availability assessments for the Vilegodskoe forestry located in the southeastern part of the Arkhangelsk region, according to which 19.1% of the analyzed plots were recognized as economically unavailable, are presented. The analysis of the characteristics of economically unavailable forest wood resources in the studied object has been carried out. Proposals have been developed on the spheres of the possible use of the toolkit for the economic availability of forest wood resources. The economic availability of forest resources can be widely used in the forestry practice of the Russian Federation in the areas of pricing and forest exploitation optimization. Its application will increase the level of payments for forest resources, due to the withdrawal of excess profits of loggers, and will also ensure the formation of more realistic forest plans.

Full scale experiments to examine the role of deadwood on rockfall dynamics in forests

Forests are rockfall-protective ecological infrastructures, as a significant amount of kinetic energy is absorbed during consecutive rock-tree impacts. Although many recent works have considered rock impacts with standing trees, the effect of lying deadwood in forests has not yet been considered thoroughly, either experimentally or numerically. Here, we present a complete examination of induced rockfall experiments on a forested area in three different management stages. The trilogy is conducted in a spruce forest stand (i) in its original state, (ii) after a logging operation with fresh, lying deadwood and (iii) after the removal of the deadwood. The tests allow us to directly quantify the effect of fresh deadwood on overall rockfall risk for the same forest (slope, species) under three different conditions. The study yields quantitative results on the barrier efficiency of the deadwood logs as only 3.6 % of the rocks surpass the deadwood section. The mean runout distance is reduced by 42 %. Conversely, the runout distance increases by 17 % when the cleared stand is compared to the original forest. These results quantitatively confirm the benefits of nature-based mitigation measures integrated into forestry practice and we show how modern rockfall codes can be extended to incorporate such complex, but realistic forest boundary conditions.

The use of measurable traits of trunk and crown to assess the biosocial classes of oak trees (Quercus robur L.)

The crown class assessment is a key element in forestry practice. It is a traditional method that finds application in thinning plans, assessment of site index, tree competition, or crown condition. Assigning trees into a given class is done during field surveys and requires precision and experience to avoid inaccuracy. Therefore, Kraft’s system has often been criticized and modified. Thus, in our study, we aimed to analyse whether the directly measured traits of trunk and crown of oak trees (Quercus robur L.) can be applied to crown class assessment. For this purpose, we used the principal component analysis (PCA) and nonlinear kernel principal component analysis (KPCA) based on measurable traits of trunk and crown, i.e., the height of the tree, the diameter at breast height, the length of the crown, and the field crown projection area. In total, we measured 286 mature trees in three oak stands located in western Poland. Results indicate that all chosen traits of trunk and crown allowed, though not always perfect, to assign the trees into given crown classes. The greatest contribution to crown class distinction had the diameter at breast height and the parameters of crown, i.e., and the field crown projection area. Furthermore, results show that the best method of assigning the trees into biosocial classes is the KPCA Gauss, considering the percentage explanation of the total variability, and KPCA Laplace, considering the visual division. In the latter, the multivariate analysis resulted in a similar crown class assignment as the field-assigned method. However, its application requires measurements that make it neither cheaper nor faster than a traditional crown class assessment. It indicates that a traditional field-assigned method, despite its subjectivity, should continue to be of great importance in forestry practice. Moreover, the alternative traits of trunk and crown can be a potentially useful statistical substitute for crown class assessment. Keywords: crown class, oak stand, trunk and crown traits, multivariate methods

Planning and Planting Future Forests with Climate Change in Mind

The climate is warming too fast for some trees to catch up. Planting seeds from warmer regions can bolster future forests, but that requires a significant shift in forestry practice.

Climate Analogues for Temperate European Forests –Forestry Practice Profits From Silvicultural Evidence in Twin Regions

Climate analogues provide forestry practice empirical evidence of how forests are managed in “twin” regions, i.e. regions where the current climate is comparable to the expected future climate at a site of interest. But the uncertain future climate creates uncertainty in how to adapt the forests. We therefore investigate how the uncertainty in future climate affects tree species suitability and whether there is a common underlying pattern. Like most studies we employ different ensemble variants of RCP 4.5 and 8.5. But instead of focusing on a single point in future time, we resolve each variant in a climate trajectory from 2000 to 2100. We calculate climatic distances between the climate trajectories of our site of interest and the current climate in Europe, generating maps with twin regions from 2000 to 2100. Forest inventories from the twin regions allow us to trace the changes in the prevalence of 23 major tree species. We find that it is not the direction but rather the velocity of the change that differs between the scenarios. We use this pattern to propose a tree species suitability concept that integrates the uncertainty in future climate. Twin regions provide further information on silvicultural practices, pest management, product chains etc.

Comparison of the Accuracy of Methods for Calculating the Volume of Standing European Beech Trees

The paper presents results of the analysis of the accuracy of calculating the volume of standing trees, calculated according to the method used in forestry practice, based on the principle of full calipering of all marked trees with the following calculation of mean height and standing volume according to the method of uniform volume curves. This volume was compared with the exact method for calculating the volume of actual removals including small wood in the beech stands of Little Carpathians in the territory of Lesy Slovenskej republiky, š.p. (Forests of the Slovak Republic, State Enterprise), branch establishment in Smolenice. The values of marked felling (standing trees) and the values of removals including logging residues left on the site will be compared and the difference expressed in percent. The difference between the values in percent is fitted with the accuracy of calculated standing volume (marked logging) established by the author of the method for calculating uniform volume curves, i.e. Halaj. A model curve is chosen by means of the directly detected value of mean stand quantity (mean height, mean diameter, age, site class etc.). The system of uniform volume curves links up with these quantities and gives volumes of individual trees for all diameter classes and corresponding heights. The method of uniform volume curves is used in Slovakia to calculate the volume of marked logging. Results of the analysis show that the volume of standing trees calculated according to the method of uniform volume curves is in reality underestimated by about 5% as compared with the actual volume of processed wood mass including logging residues left on the site. Thus, the calculation inaccuracy in forestry practice is exceeded by the above mentioned 5% as compared with the permitted deviation established through the method of uniform volume curves. Solution of this problem is a proposal submitted to the National Forest Centre in Zvolen for the elaboration of volume tables for the new ecotype of European beech.

Current influences in the development of future-oriented forestry programs

The survival of Rottenburg University of Applied Sciences (HFR) was repeatedly questioned politically in the mid-1990 s. This had nothing to do with the fact that well-trained forestry academics were no longer needed, but had been triggered by fiscal policy savings. The applied Universities with forestry programs (five) and forestry faculties (four) in Germany are rather small and had no strong lobby like the forestry itself. Unlike some competitors, in this precarious situation, the universities did not opt for a change in their clear forestry profile, but for a broader, future-oriented understanding of modern forestry. For this purpose, they are orientated on the experience from their own past and the discipline, analyse the developments in the industries and sectors that are close to forestry and specifically sought strategic partnerships in order to be able to expand their own field of competence. Thus, the conviction for their own development process originated, that the forestry science has come in its history from the practice, passing a period influenced by knowledge of the general sciences. After that, the universities joined a phase of the development of forestry disciplines, and now they must turn back to the practice again. In this sense, a circle seems to close here and the universities have an additional, important task to deal with: more than before, in addition to teaching and research, the transfer of research results must also be put into practice. At the same time, the process of teaching has to be designed in such a way that it also provides continuous offers for job oriented training. Therefore, the universities must be the melting pot for all relevant influences from other sciences, which are and will be important for the forestry practice. This does not create a new profile, but a broader one. As a result, we are no longer training largely equal graduates, but forestry graduates with very individual strengths, attains, and profiles who fit like different keys into the various locks of practical challenges. This path helped the HFR to safeguard its future, to meet high demand among young students and to be recognized as the "smallest university of excellence" in Germany.

Creative engineering – introducing the progress of science to forestry

Implementing creative engineering, or in other words the progress of science, in forestry practice requires the integration of knowledge from its various branches concerning the impact of human activity on the Earth’s ecosystem. In fact, various aspects of development in the forest services are already associated with ecological engineering, which in practice includes biology, economy, sociology as well as technical and mechanical construction. Special attention was given to modelling as the most productive method of promoting progress in forest management. In the case of biological engineering in forest ecology, for example, various possibilities of applying genetic engineering as a potential future method for increasing productivity as well as for the preservation of genetic diversity and environmentalprotection are discussed in more detail. Literature recommendations concerning engineering in forestry accessible to students of the Extramural Doctorate Studies at the Forest Research Institute in Sękocinare also presented.