Past Forest Management
It should be noted that the forests that make up the production unit come from three production units in OS Ilia,
Next, specific data are presented for the production units from which the forests originate, with an attempt to emphasize those that are the subject of past forest management for the forest fund under study․
3․1․ History and analysis of forest management in the past until the entry into force of the expired management plan
3․1․1․ Evolution of forest ownership and management before 1948
By analyzing the overall history and management of the stands in the area, some aspects of the stands studied can be specified.
Thus, with certainty, before 1948 these groves did not belong to the state, as there were only communal, compositional, private and church forests in the area.
The current state of the stands reflects their management, with the treatments applied being different, depending on their accessibility.
During this period, forest exploitation was mainly aimed at harvesting firewood and rural construction. No maintenance cuttings of the stands were carried out during this period.
A negative aspect of past forest management is the intensive grazing of forests, with cattle breeding being the main occupation of the surrounding inhabitants. This aspect has led to the reduction of the forest fund, the depreciation of intensively grazed stands and especially of saplings.
Clear-cutting on relatively large areas carried out after the First World War as a result of wood requirements, led to the transformation of some stands into hornbeams, an imbalance of age classes, poor regeneration and a provenance from shoots, especially in accessible oak stands in the hilly region.
In 1948, based on Article 7 of the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova, all these forests became state property, as “the property of the entire people”.
3.1.2. Forest management after 1948
After 1948, the forests in the analyzed area were managed based on summary studies.
Starting from 1953, the stands under study began to be managed based on arrangements within UP III Gurasada, UP IV Valea Poienii and UP V Visca in OS Ilia. The arrangements followed each other in the years: 1967, 1977, 1989, and in 1999 the previous arrangement that still contained these stands, as state forests, came into force. Its application is from the start affected by the pressures exerted by potential owners based on law 169/1997. As a result, in the stands under study, the extraction of accidental products and hygiene cuts were mainly carried out.
In 2011, a management plan came into force that included most of the forests under study, namely those belonging to the “Vorțana” Vorța Composers’ Association, which were associated with forests owned by other individuals. The situation regarding this last management plan is presented in a comparative manner below.
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.