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To preserve and increase the biological and landscape diversity, it is necessary to have comprehensive information about the conditions and dynamics of changes in the study object, a specific local ecosystem. Nature reserves are created to restore habitats, to protect endangered species of flora and fauna, vulnerable or complex species. Particular attention should be paid to the study of wetlands, a stabilizer of the hydrological regime of ecosystems, and a shaping element of the regional climate. It is proposed t...

European aspen (Populus tremula L.) is fast growing, almost exclusively naturally regenerated trees species, significant for biodiversity, but also with notable financial value. It is prone to browsing damages and rot. Limited information on traits important to wind resistance had been collected so far and used to adapt models predicting wind damages in stands of these tree species. Main storms affect Northern Europe during winter time (when trees are at leaf-less state), however, summer storms are becoming freque...

The maintenance of ecological, economic and social functions of forest territories is closely connected with competitiveness of forestry. Its assessment permits to take the right decisions for its enhancement and rational use of forest resources. In this regard the purpose of this paper is to present the theoretical and conceptual framework for development of unified methodology for quantitative assessment of competitiveness of forestry companies in Bulgaria. The theoretical framework is based on the existing theo...

By studying the dendrometrical indices and vitality of introduced woody plants grown in an arboretum, it is possible to conclude about the success of their adaptation in country's climatic conditions. Growth indicators of introduced woody plants growing in Latvian arboretums can be used to study the introduction and adaptation of woody plants, in accordance with the influence of climatic conditions. The aim of the work was to describe the taxonomic composition and quality of the trees of the Arboretum Lacupite. Th...

Renewable energy is one of the most lenient and convenient ways to get energy. With ongoing climate change and exhaustion of fossil fuels, we need to find and promote other alternatives to get the energy, and wood biomass is one of them. Historically Latvia has large areas of abandoned agricultural lands, that are overgrowing with various wood species, which could be used for energy production. The wood resources are natural, renewable and environmentally friendly. The purpose of research work is to assess the amo...

Accurate measurements in forest inventories are crucial. Though manual measurements are precise, they are time consuming, while most of the times, the amount of collected data is limited in Diameter at Breast Height (DBH) and Height. Contemporary technological achievements such as Terrestrial Laser Scanner (TLS) and Unmanned Air Vehicle (UAV) can be used in forest inventories, where capturing detailed and highly accurate information, such as geometry, texture or color, can be obtained in great detail and speed. Th...

Chaga is a perennial parasitic fungus of the Hymenochaetaceae family that lives on the bark of aged birch trees. Chaga contains a comprehensive set of substances that are essential for humans. In this context, the Chaga mushroom is widely used in the pharmaceutical industry. Chaga containing drugs are generally used as anti-inflammatory and restorative. Chaga can also be used as part of the complex treatment of tumors of various localization, diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, it helps to mobilize the body's ...

The aim of the study is to carry out the management and economic evaluation of the Scots pine Pinus sylvestris L. forest stand in Mezaparks, Riga. The aim of the landscape selective cutting is to improve the resilience of mature stands, while increasing the visual attractiveness of the stand. Riga?s Mezaparks has been used for recreation and other social activities for long time. To continue serving social, ecological, economical and other interests of the city, it is important, especially for the urban forestry, ...

The planted forest stands of pedunculate oak (Quercus roburL.) were carefully cultivated in Latvia for wood harvesting since the end of the 19th century. Today, felling of Q. robur forest stands in Latvia is prohibited, and according to the nature conservation rules are included in the list of habitats of European interest 9160*. According to the State Forest Service [14], the share of oak stands in all forests in Latvia is 0.1% (9354.58 ha). During their lives, oak forest stands are threatened by various risk fac...

Biomass is the world's fourth largest source of energy after oil, coal and natural gas. Biomass is the largest and currently the most important renewable energy option and can be used to produce various forms of energy. As a result, biomass, together with other renewable energy options, is able to provide all the energy services needed in today's society, both locally and globally. Among many other aspects, the renew-ability and versatility of biomass as an energy source is also an important advantage. In addition...

In the national policy and development documents of Latvia, forest, along with other natural resources, is defined as an important strategic resource for the sustainable overall development of the country and the development of a diverse and export-intensive economy. At the same time, the need to exploit forests sustainably, reducing the risks to the quality of the natural environment posed by human activities, is emphasized by the documents. The research question is as follows: Are forests in Latvia overexploited...

In Latvia, Scots pine forests stands occupy 953450 ha or 33% of the total forest area. The percentage of young stands is 18% of pine forests. The young stands under the age of 10 are most represented. Scots pine has always been important for the Latvian economy, since several high-quality assortments can only be made from a quality pine trunk. The quality of the first log shall be formed during the first decade of the tree, therefore it is important to identify, assess and reduce the risk factors for P. sylvestris...

The results of a study of the dynamics of anthropogenic transformation of the species composition of the forests of Karelia using GIS technologies are presented in the article. The main object of research is the forests of the Karelian basement lake-taiga plain (eastern part of the Baltic crystalline shield). A quantitative analysis of changes in the species composition of forests in historical time was carried out for the first time. Retrospective, cartographic, comparative, historical and geographical sections o...

This paper deals with a case study from Central European mountain Acidophilous spruce forests below the alpine tree line in the Hruby Jesenik Mountains (Czech Republic). These forest ecosystems are protected in the frame of the Natura 2000 European system. Maintaining of the defined forest habitat character, especially for certain types of forests historically affected by humans, is there the main target of forest management strategy. The results of this study suggest that research on forest management history can...

Nowadays, in the Arkhangelsk region of the Russian Federation, the timber industry is under active development. A quantity of raw materials necessary for the increasing production capacities of timber processing enterprises show an annual increase. Roundwood removes from forest to limber mill by highway, train, water transport, barges and float boat (which, by the way, is one of the main types of transport). The timber processing enterprises on the river channel are equipped with pile piers which help floating tim...

In the last decades in Romanian forests, a massive phenomenon of uncontrolled cut trees was observed, leading to a new environmental problem. In these conditions, the solar radiation affects the seedlings of some tree species as the beech and oak, and generally the entire life from these forests. In the last 5-6 years, a supplementary massive invasion of the white mistletoe was observed, especially associated with the silver fir and beech. The main objective of this paper is to associate the effects of the solar r...

Wind is by far the most important natural disturbance, shaping the forest composition and age structure in Europe. Birch (Betula spp.) is among the wind-resistant species, especially during the season of extra-tropical cyclone storms, when it typically is in leaf-less state. However, predicted shifts in the frequency and seasonality of storms will affect also this species, therefore modelling of its wind resistance is important. For this purpose, among others, data on wood properties are essential. Typically such ...

The forests of Ukraine, according to their purpose and location, mainly perform water protection, protective, sanitary and hygienic and recreational functions. The peculiarities of forests and forestry in Ukraine include: a relatively low average level of forest cover in the country; growth of forests in various natural areas (Polesie, Forest-steppe, Steppe, Ukrainian Carpathians); significant differences in forest conditions, methods of forest management, use of forest resources and useful properties of forests; ...

In this work, we provide a framework for assessing cross-boundary wildfire exposure and a case study application in the region of Macedonia, Greece. The required spatial layers describing topography, fuels/ vegetation and ignition location were retrieved from open-access international and national databases, while climate data were obtained from remote automatic weather stations. We processed the spatial layers to derive the required inputs for the Minimum Travel Time fire spread algorithm. Hourly and daily weathe...

Naturally regenerated birch (Betula spp.) stands, to a large extent formed on abandoned agricultural lands, is a notable part of the privately owned forests in Latvia. Birch is fast growing and less frequently affected by abiotic and biotic factors (like dendrophagous insects, cervids, drought) than other main commercial tree species in Latvia. However, wind storms, predicted to increase in frequency in future, is an important risk in birch stands. Therefore, the aim of our study was to assess the snapping height ...

Intensification of forest management is required due to contrasting trends of growing demand to use renewable materials and boost carbon sequestration, while simultaneously decreasing area of managed forest. Additionally, increasing frequency of natural disturbances creates difficulties to ensure production of high-quality saw-logs. One of the strategies to overcome (or at least minimize) the negative impacts is establishment of low-density plantations, intended for relatively short rotation (c.a. 50 years). Aim o...

The paper presents the results of research on the radiation balance of coniferous forest ecosystems in the mountain Crimea. Based on open reanalysis databases and the geoinformational modeling results, the elements values of the radiation balance of coniferous forest ecosystems located in different landscape zones and levels are calculated. It is found that for the period from 1983 to 2013 the values of the radiation balance of the mountain Crimea coniferous forest ecosystems vary from 1641.8 to 1836.4 MJ/m2?year....

The development of rural areas is important for the economy of any country. In Latvia, the development of rural areas depends on economic growth in the key industries for the rural areas ? agriculture and forestry. Accordingly, it is important to use the various support instruments of the European Union (EU) Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) for rural development, which include financial support not only for agriculture but also for forestry. Therefore, the overall aim of the present research is to assess the use o...

The shelterwood strip cutting is the main felling technique, where the stand is cut in shelterwood the width of which does not exceed the average tree height of the stand. The information obtained in the study reflects how the characteristic forest vegetation develops, depending on the location and orientation of the object, as well as the cleaning type of forest residues. The development of vegetation shows which type is the most efficient and in which the vegetation develops the fastest. Two North-South (N-S) an...

Monumental trees are characterized by extraordinary dimensions, long life, fantastic visual effects, and a socio-cultural values in the context of local history, folklore and mystical believes of the people living around. Taxus baccata L., commonly known as yew, English yew or, European yew, is an evergreen tree or shrub and it is considered to be one of the most distinguished monumental trees identified in the world. In this study were determined and recorded the monumental common yew trees distributed in the cen...

Forestry vehicles meet different kinds of soil resistance when operating on forest soils, which include the rolling resistance, as well as the resistance to vehicles turning. The purpose of proposed study is to present dependencies for estimating the soils resistance to forestry vehicles? turning, based on solution of theoretical problem of indenter pressing into a soil massif of unlimited thickness of the deformable layer. The study bases on theoretical methods of terramechanics, methods of computational experime...

The study aims to estimate rut depths components caused by soil compaction and its? shearing caused by forestry vehicles? impact. The study bases on theoretical methods of terramechanics. As a result of the calculations, the study estimates three components of the rut depth caused by wheeled and bogie-tracked forestry vehicles impact. In the case when wheeled forestry vehicles operate on a weak forest soil which bearing capacity is up to 0.04 MPa, the estimate of the rut depth component caused by the soil shear ca...

Importance of unmanaged forests for biodiversity aspects in unquestionable, while their role in climate change mitigation is still unclear due to the large heterogeneity of these forests in different bioclimatic regions; therefore, requiring data of biomass distribution for their inclusion in national and regional carbon reporting systems. The aim of our study was to assess the live biomass distribution and amount of dead wood in over-mature Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and Norway spruce (Picea abies (K.) L.) ...

Different natural and man-made hazards lead to the loss of millions of hectares of forest every year; sustainable forest management, which will decrease or prevent loss, is vitally important for our planet?s health. Sustainable forest management in the Russian Federation implies the effective multi-purpose use of forest resources, which involves implementing preventive and reforestation measures. However, the forest extends over vast territories, which complicates the work of determining the state of the system as...

The article presents the results of a study of the attractiveness of the forests coasts of the Cheboksary Reservoir on Volga River of the Cheboksary urban district in Chuvashya region (Russia). As the main natural and recreational characteristics, two criteria were chosen: the attractiveness of the relief and forest landscapes. The results of the study showed that the Right Bank of the Cheboksary reservoir has a high natural and recreational potential. The work revealed the possibility of using the attractiveness ...

Managed by the Conservation of Forests of Oum El Bouaghi, the forest of Sidi R?Ghies which is primarily for forestry covers an area of 3106 hectares. This area consists of several species. The current ecological status of the forest is poorly understood. The precise knowledge of existing forest resources and their evolution has become indispensable. The objective of our study is to collect data on the current environmental status of the site and timber resources in order to establish a reference state (zero state)...

The wood market is constantly undergoing transformation, which leads to the variation of the price of wood, sometimes significant, from one area to another. In addition, the geographical distribution of forest species and the needs of the woodworking market often make that the wood necessary to be purchased from long distances, so transported over considerable distances and with considerable costs. Thus, the article aims to analyse the transport distances for wood mass purchased by a woodworking company from Braso...

The purpose of the article is to analyze the unloading times of the raw material used in manufacturing OSB boards. In this regard, there were centralized all the entries of raw material from July and October 2016, when the wood was transported on roads. Data analysis was done taking into account the type of means of transport (truck or trailer truck), volumes and species transported. It has been found that, as a rule, the means of transport comply with the tonnage allowed on public roads, but there are also exceed...

Plant production and planting of silver birch is gradually increasing in Latvia. It comes with the recognition on the potential to improve the growth and quality of next generation of birch stands while using the improved (selected) material (seeds for plant production mainly from seed orchard). In very fertile sites with fast over-growth of clear-cut with dense vegetation, planting also helps to ensure successful and fast forest regeneration. Planting is a significant investment, thus forest owners are interested...

In the paper has been analyzed the state of the tropical forests in Central African Region. The trends and causes of deforestation are revealed, and the associated decrease in the ecosystem function of tropical forests CO2 sequestration by atmosphere. Model calculations based on the Spatial Model of the Global Carbon Cycles in Atmosphere - Plants ? Soil System (APS) represent the response of vegetation to an increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the air and quantitatively determine the parameters of t...

Forest value depends on multiple factors, as well as on prevailing market conditions. It is measured in natural units. The most popular approach in calculating the economic value of a forest is the discounted cash flow method. The most influential factor is an discount rate, since the value determination is based on the assumption that a forest life cycle is 120 years. Therefore, the overall aim of the present research is to evaluate an optimal discount rate for long-term forest management. The research showed tha...

The aim of the article is studying relationships of soil pressure of forestry machines, determined within different methods. Research methods include computing experiment and calculated data processing. The article analyzes three different methods for calculating the soil pressure, including analytical method for calculating average contact pressure, method for calculating the pressure on a rigid surface, and nominal ground pressure method. Basing on the computing experiment results, the study establishes linear r...

Birch, primarily silver birch, is used in afforestation of marginal agricultural lands. Natural regeneration on fertile soils most of the cases happens with birch, if no specific management is applied. Therefore share of birch is increasing in hemiboreal forests Previously, target species of forest management had been coniferous trees. Thus the information on the growth and revenue from birch plantations is limited. Moreover, there the minimums density is set to 2000 trees ha-1 in regeneration and 800 trees ha-1 i...

Nowadays, various climate data sources offer free-access information regarding interpolated climatological data, used in forest research studies (dendroecology and dendroclimatology). The most utilised are the international data grids, for reasons of length of time series and offboard coverage. Changes in the climate extremes from the last decades are frequently monitored using global climate gridded datasets (we used CRU-TS and E-OBS). Our study evaluates their accuracy relative to the national data grid (ROCADA)...

Oak stands decline has been several times reported in the scientific literature, starting with the beginning of the twenty century. A brief overview is presented regarding the occurrence of oak decline in the Romanian extra-Carpathian region since 1900 until present. Six oak species having a significant economic and ecological status are affected - Quercus robur L., Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl.), Quercus pedunculiflora K. Koch., Quercus frainetto Ten., Quercus cerris L., and Quercus pubescens Willd. The literatu...

Wild edible mushrooms are a valuable food with a high content of proteins, fibers, antioxidants, and they are characterized with its specific consistency, taste and flavor. Though, from an ecotoxicological point of view, they are a risk commodity because of their extremely high bioaccumulative capacity to increase the level of risk elements and contaminants from the environment. Environmental contamination of risk elements is currently one of the most serious problems in the world. Risk elements, because of its hi...

The purpose of this article is development of systemized recommendations for assessing impact of logging machines on forest soil, basing on which one can consider eligibility of a particular machine for given soil conditions. Research methods include mathematical analysis, numerical methods for solving equations, computing experiment and methods for calculated data processing. The study uses soil compaction and rut depth, consisting of the compaction and soil shear, as the main indicators of the impact. The main s...

Recently, the woodworking industry is increasingly paying attention to the effective use of wood in the production of consumer goods. The key point in resolving this issue was and remains the careful and economical use of harvested wood. Logging volumes in Russia, according to analysts of the timber industry complex, have declined everywhere by 2017, while in the North-West region they have reached 3%. One of the possible and promising areas for the effective use of wood is gluing. Glued wood is widely used in var...

The results of analysis of organization of conservation, reproduction and use of game fauna resources in Serbia: number, population density and amount of main species harvest, especially livestock of even-toes ungulates makes 204.3 thousand species, including European roe deer ? 83.7%, wild boar ? 12.3%, cervus ? 3.7%, chamois ? 0.3%. Actual harvest amount is 20.5 thousand species, including European roe deer ? 55.5%, wild boar ? 39.7%, cervus ? 4.7%. Total amount of fur animals is 892.7 thousand species, includin...

The Forest Code of the Russian Federation prescribes the rational use of forest resources (Article 114). The total area of the Arkhangelsk region, covered by shrinking trees, is the territory of 9 forest districts. The large scale of dying pine forests in the region requires the solution of the issue of the use of deadwood. Evaluation of the quality and strength characteristics of wood from dying forests will determine the way to use such wood. The main qualitative characteristics of timber in dying forests can be...

The aim of the study is verification of theoretical models, previously suggested by the authors for calculating rut depth and snow compaction under influence of forestry vehicles. The study bases on methods of field experiment design and methods of statistical data processing and uses wheeled forwarder John Deere 1210G as experimental set. Field tests were conducted on experimental skidding roads with loose snow, where the snow cover depth was approximately 50 cm, and on skidding roads with slightly compacted snow...

The Upper Orava region is for several decades affected by emissions from manufacturers of ferroalloys as well as by a transport of pollutants via the atmosphere from abroad. The aim of this study was to assess the degree of risk for Pb, Cd, Cr, Cu, Zn, Ni and Co input from soil into small forest fruit species growing in this region. Soil and fruit samples were collected from 8 sampling points exactly fixed using GPS. In soil the agrochemical characteristics (pH/KCl, content of K, Mg, P, Ca and humus) were determin...

The results of long-term investigations of the 137Cs, 90Sr, and 241Am horizontal distribution in the upper soil layer in various ecosystems on the territory of the exclusion zone of the Chernobyl NPP are presented in the article. The research was carried out in 2011-2017 in the Belarusian sector of the exclusion zone of the Chernobyl NPP on the experimental sites near the research station "Masany" of the Polesye State Radiation Ecological Reserve (about 10 km from the epicenter of the accident). The horizontal dis...

Share of birch is increasing in hemiboreal forests mainly due to its superior natural regeneration capabilities and afforestation of abandoned agricultural lands. It is more wind-firm than Norway spruce, thus it could be even more favoured in context of climate changes, linked to worsening wind climate in this region. Historically, target species of forest management had been coniferous trees. Therefore, aim of our study was to evaluate the effect of thinning regime on net present value of birch stands. Sample plo...

Silver birch (Betula pendula Roth.) regenerates well naturally and is not much affected by different biotic and abiotic factors, except wind. It is increasingly recognized as fast growing species, important for veneer production, thus establishment and management of its stands are promoted. In contrast to coniferous trees, there is much less experience in birch reaction to thinning, thus the optimal management regime. Therefore aim of our study was to assess the influence of thinning on increment of silver birch a...