Analysis of the efficiency of forest management

11․1․ Achieving functional continuity

Ensuring the functional continuity of forests generally involves two aspects: ensuring the continuity of protection and ensuring the continuity of production within the limits determined by the age-class structure of the stands. To achieve this, functions have been assigned to each stand (see Chapter 5), the arrangement providing for specific management methods that aim to achieve a certain specialization of the stands in order to ensure continuity and maximize the exercise of the assigned functions.

In the coming decades, the proportion of species will gradually change in favor of chewing species (sycamore, cherry, lime), with a decrease in the proportion of hornbeam. The long-term continuity of wood production is conditioned by the balanced distribution of stands by age classes, a condition that does not exist at present. In the optimal future, the aim is to return to the fundamental natural forest type and increase the productivity of stands.

11․2․ Dynamics of forest fund development

The data presented in Part II of the plan, in paragraphs 14․1․ and 14․2․ summarize the development of the productive forest fund in the next three decades, also presenting the optimal future situation. The dynamics of the development of the productive forest fund is presented using two groups of indicators: quantitative and qualitative.

No. Quantitative indicators MU Value
current over 10 years over 20 years in the future
1. Share of forests in the total area of the forest fund % 100,00 100,00 100,00 100,00
2. Wood volume per foot – total thousand / m³ 24,82 28,07 31,08 30,90
3. Timber volume per tree – average (per hectare) m³/ha 234 265 293 291
4. Medium production class - III4 III4 III4 III0
5. Total current growth m³ 591 513 502 467
6. Average current growth m³/year/ha 5,6 4,8 4,7 4,4
7. Total indicator growth m³/year 297 302 305 361
8. Average indicator growth m³/year/ha 2,8 2,8 2,9 3,4
9. Main product possibilities – total m³/year 103 104 136 360
10. Possibility of main products – per hectare m³/ha 1,0 1,0 1,3 3,4
11. Possibility of by-products – total m³/year 163 108 59 100
12. Possibility of secondary products – per hectare m³/ha 1,5 1,0 0,6 0,9
  1. The surface area of the productive fund will not change.
  2. The current consistency of 0.88 is optimal (0.85-0.90)․ It is estimated that this will decrease to 0.78 in the second decade and increase to 0.80 in the third decade.
  3. The productive timber stock and the average volume per hectare will increase from about 24.82 thousand cubic meters (234 cubic meters/ha) to about 31.08 thousand cubic meters (293 cubic meters/ha) in the third decade. These parameters will exceed the optimal ones of 30.9 thousand cubic meters (291 cubic meters/ha). This is explained by the structure by age classes, provenance and current composition.
  4. The total current growth and the current growth index will decrease from about 591 thousand cubic meters (5.6 cubic meters/ha) to about 502 thousand cubic meters (4.7 cubic meters/ha) in the third decade. It is observed that these parameters exceed the optimal ones of 467 thousand cubic meters (4.4 cubic meters/ha). This is explained by the structure by age classes, provenance and current composition․
  5. The forecasted possibility will increase steadily, with the decrease in the deficit of exploitable timber.
    3 /year of main products and 100 m3 /year of secondary products could be sustainably harvested in the future.
  6. The indicative growth in the optimal future will be 361 m3.
  7. The production cycle in the optimal future remains 110.

11․2․2․ Qualitative indicators

  1. The composition of the productive fund will undergo changes by increasing the proportion of mixed species (sycamore, cherry, lime), with a decrease in the proportion of hornbeam.
  2. The provenance of the productive stock stands is currently:
  • tree elements originating from seed: 1%
  • arboretum elements from plantations: 1%
  • arbor elements originating from shoots: 98%

In the future, the proportion of plantations should be reduced to a minimum and regeneration from shoots should be eliminated.

  1. The average production class of the stands (III4) is below the ecological maximum (III0). The overall productivity of the stands will improve in the future, being currently quite far from the ecological maximum given by the quality of the resorts.

  2. The productivity of stands will increase in the coming decades by improving the composition and replacing sucker stands and low-yielding and provisional stands - especially partially derived ones (see 6.6.)

Overall silvicultural measures will lead to the gradual restoration of the fundamental natural forest types and the approach to the optimal overall composition, which will lead to increased productivity and increased harvesting possibilities in the coming decades.

We consider the existence of the SMURF project to be of great importance for raising awareness among forest owners in Europe about the multifunctionality of forests and the rights of owners, as well as for building an intra-European network of forest owners.

https://www.smurfproject.eu/the-project/