Verification of the principles of accounting for the size of the allowable fellings in forest management planning

The timber market in Poland is dominated by raw materials from the State Forests that conduct planned and sustainable forest management based on forest management plans. Previous rules regulating the planning of final felling are mainly based on the maturity of stands expressed in dominant tree species age and on categories of protection. Attention is paid to the shortage of raw timber material compared to demand and the processing capacity of the industry. There is a danger that unevenness in timber supplies could occur because of the age structure of the forests in the coming decades. Due to the unfavourable age structure of forests in Poland, a not fully satisfactory condition of the resources as well as the high demand for timber in Poland, there is a need for increased usage and regeneration the forests. The amount of harvested timber should be a compromise of silvicultural, protective and productive purposes with the local role of forestry as a stimulator of economic development. Implementation of forest management should take into account the continuity and the relative uniformity of timber supplies in the long term (e.g. fifty years), and a quantitative and qualitative improvement in resources. This requires effective forecasting of forestry resources. The paper presents a methodology for classification of forest stands for felling and the concept of a reassessment of existing accounting rules for the size of the fellings used in the practice of forest management and any related necessary amendments to legal provisions.

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Opracowanie ze środków MNiSW w ramach umowy 812/P-DUN/2016 na działalność upowszechniającą naukę.