Policies for Sustainable Forestry in Belarus, Russia and Ukraine provides a thorough analysis of the key factors in the transition process affecting the forest sector in the eponymous countries. Moreover, it designs new strategies for sustainable development in these areas. The book attempts to strengthen selected trends in the forest sector in each country so that they may gradually achieve sustainability and create a market economy. The key factors are identified by making use of several different sources: scientific papers, interviews with experts from the three countries and the...

In this volume the condition of floodplain forests and ecological impacts of anthropogenic effects is reviewed. The most important anthropogenic impacts dealt with are as follows: decrease of floodplain forest area in favor of agriculture; watercourse regulation resulting in termination of floods and groundwater table decrease; construction of dams or building of water reservoirs resulting in destruction of floodplain forest areas; interactions between floodplain forests and housing estates; intensive game-management; and fragmentation of floodplain forest ecosystems.
The book will serve...

Current developments in Central Europe will have far-reaching consequences on the region's forestry and related institutional arrangements, such as forest administration, extension services and forest research. Future prospects for the rural population living on income from forestry will considerably depend on how individuals and organisations react in view of these changes. It will be vitally important how forest owners and managers apply new knowledge in forestry and how organisations best deal with the emerging changes. Innovation and entrepreneurship are main driving forces for economic...

The report gives an insight into the potential architecture of a European Forest Information System, its system components and potential applications. A demonstration version was built and tested with various data types. Options are presented on how an operational forest information system could run within a network of distributed datasets.

Ecological and economic considerations recently increased the interest in growing valuable broadleaved tree species. Although the demand for valuable timber is growing, and there is a notable interest among forest owners and farmers to grow valuable broad leaved tree species, the current level of knowledge about these species is insufficient. More information on how to grow valuable broadleaved species to obtain high-quality wood and more research on new options for forest management is needed. This book covers various relevant aspects of growing valuable broadleaved trees in an...

Forest growth in Europe has been increasing during the last decades. Several possible causes have been suggested. In this book complementary approaches are used to discriminate between factors. Increased nitrogen availability is indicated as the major cause of the observed growth increase. In the future, direct temperature effects and increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration are likely to become more important.

A review of modern approaches existing nowadays in ecological modelling of forest ecosystems in boreal and temperate forests. The book contains data on contemporary approaches in intensively developed simulation modelling of forest stands, soils and whole ecosystems as well; an analysis of existing spatial forest models and their significance and development; and a comprehensive discussion of theoretical (analytical) models of forest communities. The idea of a system of forest models for more effective solving of different theoretical and practical problems is also discussed. This work is...