Forestry in Poland. Dr. Krzysztof Jodłowski. Forest Research Institute. Department of Forest Management

Transcription

1 Forestry in Poland Dr. Krzysztof Jodłowski Department of Forest Management Forest Research Institute

2 Main forest management regimes

3 Forest resources Forests once covered almost the whole territory of Poland. However, the socio-economic developments such as expansion of agriculture and growing demand for timber had changed that. Even at the end of the 18th century forests covered about 40% of the territory within the Polish borders at that time, but by 1945 this figure had fallen to just 20.8%. Reversal of this process occurred in the period when Poland s forest cover increased to 27% as a result of afforestation of thousand hectares. Forest cover [%] in Poland by province (source: Forests in Poland 2013) At present, the total area of forests in Poland is thousand hectares (the Central Statistical Office figure as of 31 December 2012), which puts forest cover at 29.3%.

4 Ownership structure Forests in Poland are mainly publicly owned accounting for 81.2 %, of which forests managed under the National Forest Holding represent 77.3 % of the total forest area. Ownership structure of forests in Poland (source: Forests in Poland 2013) Another 2.0 % of the forest area is administered by the National Parks, 0.4 % is under management of the Agricultural Agency of the State Treasure, and 0.7 % is occupied mainly by municipal and urban forests. The ownership structure of forests in the post-war period remained almost unchanged. Small changes in forest ownership in post-war period result from afforestation.

5 Share of private forests The ownership structure has remained almost unchanged since the end of the last war. Since 1995 the share of privately-owned forests has increased from 17.1% to 18.8%. In the same period the share of publicly-owned forests decreased from 82.9% to 81.2%. Share of private forests in the total forest area by province (Source: Forests in Poland 2013)

6 Timber resources Timber resources in Poland s forests in , in million m 3 of gross merchantable timber (source: Forests in Poland 2013)

7 Timber resources Pine (Pinus sylvestris) accounts for 61.7% of volume of timber resources in all categories of forest ownership, 63.9% in the State Forests and 57.7% in private forests.

8 Timber resources Average standing volume in Poland s forests, , in m 3 /ha of gross merchantable timber (Source: Forests in Poland 2013)

9 Timber resources According to the latest forest area and timber resources survey updated on , the average standing volume of afforested land in the State Forests was 254 m 3 /ha, while in private and commune-owned forests the latest available figure ( ) puts it at 119 m 3 /ha. The Large-Scale Forest Inventory shows that the average standing volume of forests managed by the State Forests in relation to the total forest area was 270 m 3 /ha, while in private and communeowned forests it was 227 m 3 /ha.

10 Clearcuts In 2013 the State Forests harvested in clearcuts 6.2 million m 3 of roundwood, which accounted for 18.1% of total merchantable timber acquisition. Clearcut area was 25.7 thousand ha and was slightly higher than the average of the last 10 years of 25.2 thousand ha. Limiting the area of clearcuts indicates progress in greening forestry, and their use is sometimes forced by the occurrence of large-scale damage caused by wind and other abiotic factors or as a result of forest dieback due to drought, fungal diseases and insects gradation. Area of clear-cuts in the State Forests in (Source: Forests in Poland 2013) Clearcuts are slowly being replaced by other types of cuttings.

11 Forest policy The objectives of forest policy in Poland and tasks for their implementation are specified in the National Policy on Forest, document issued by the Ministry of Environmental Protection, Natural Resources and Forestry, approved by the Council of Ministers in The overall policy objective is to establish a complex forest management activities that shape the relationship of man to the forest, in order to preserve their usability and comprehensive protection and their role in shaping the environment in accordance with current and future expectations of society. Forest policy is implemeted by provincial governors, Director General of State Forests, general manager of state forests, Forest Management and Geodesy Bureau.

12 Protection of forests, preservation of biodiversity and forest ecosystem services

13 Habitats Forests in Poland mainly occur in areas with the poorest soils, which is reflected in the structure of forest habitat types. Coniferous forest habitats predominate, accounting for 51.2% of the total forest area, while broadleaved forest habitats account for 48.8%. In both groups, upland habitats occupy 5.9 % of the forest area and mountain habitats 8.7%. Event, Place, Date

14 Forest functions Polish forests fulfil diverse functions, either naturally or as a result of human activities: environmental (protective) functions, among others: regulation of water cycle in nature, prevention of floods, avalanches and landslides, protection of soil against erosion; social functions: providing health-enhancing and recreational conditions for society and contributing to the labour market; productive (economic) functions: primarily production of renewable biomass, including timber and non-timber products.

15 Protection of forests Forest ecosystems account for over 37.3% of the land area under legal protection. The share of protected forests in the total forest area is 40.7%, while the share of protective forests mainly water-protective, those around cities and those in areas damaged by industry 39%. The areas of Natura 2000 network cover about 20% of the country s land area. Within the State Forests: Special Protection Areas for birds (SPAs) cover 2214 thousand hectares (31.8% of the State Forests territory) Sites of Community Importance (SCIs) 1641 thousand hectares (23.5%).

16 Protective forests Share of protective forests in the State Forests in 2012 (Source: Forests in Poland 2013)

17 Protective forests The area of private forests recognized as protective is estimated at 64.8 thousand hectares, or 3.8% of their total area. Protective forests owned by communes cover an area of 24.7 thousand ha (28.8% of their total area). The share of protective forests in all ownership categories in the total forest area in Poland currently stands at 40.1%.

18 Social functions of forests Forests are: an attractive place for recreation and leisure, a popular destination for excursions, giving the opportunity for people for direct contact with nature and for foresters to provide forest education programs. Health-enhancing properties of forest ecosystems encourage development of tourism and recreation, primarily in the areas designated as health resorts.

19 Social functions of forests The State Forests at present provide the following facilities to the visitors: 50 education centers, 250 forest exhibition rooms, 517 teaching shelters and green classes, 957 educational trails, 1756 educational points and 2235 other facilities. The State Forests also offer a wide range of tourist attractions which are available to visitors of any age and social group: walking, cycling and horse riding routes. Additionally, the visitors can use designated bivouac and camping places, sports facilities and other attractions. Fot. T. Markiewicz

20 Profitability in forestry

21 Timber harvesting Timber harvesting in forests of different forms of ownership, a) estimated data prior to 1997 b) in relation to forest area under partial protection (Source: Forests in Poland 2013)

22 Timber harvesting Removals by ownership forms and assortments in 2011, in thous. m 3 (source: Forestry 2012) State Forests National Parks Private forests Timber Including: 32, ,633 pulpwood 16, fuelwood 2, Small-sized wood Including: Slash for fuel 1,770 2 Total 35, ,633

23 The National Forest Holding State Forests State Forests (National Forest Holding State Forests) is a state entity without legal personality within the meaning of the law, acting on Polish territory. State Forests conduct forest management while respecting the state of the managed areas. Economic foundation of the State Forests is the principle of self-financing - spend saving up funds for their own use, without paying the owner (the state) dividends. In Poland activities related to forestry, the core activity of the State Forests, are exempt from income tax. State Forests also has a unique instrument alignment of financial shortages in various forest districts - forest fund, which is determined annually a percentage of revenues from sold wood. A trustee of the fund is the General Director of State Forests. A typical example of this instrument is to support forest districts where the stands were affected by the disaster. Revenues from the sale of forest districts wood accounted for 90.7% of total revenues.

24 Private forests The research on a nationwide sample of 1,112 agricultural holdings with forest, conducted by Forest Research Institute in 2007, provided information on private forests in the ownership of farmers. The collected data show that, due to their small area, forests in agricultural holdings play basically the role of timber warehouse used by farmers for the household needs. In the case of larger holdings, private forests are a source of small income, due to their high fragmentation. Farmers generate very low income from forest, do not invest in forestry production means (machines and equipment), and they usually do forest operation by themselves. (Gołos 2011)

25 Forest management research and implementation of research results

26 Forest research funding Research in the field of forest management in Poland are mainly carried out by four research centers: Forest Research Institute and three departments of forestry in Krakow, Poznan and Warsaw. Part of the research is also conducted by the faculties of economics and biology. The main research funding institutions in Poland are: State Forests, National Science Centre and the National Centre for Research and Development and the Ministry of Science and Higher Education. Research funding. In the case of State Forests selection of projects for funding is dictated by the needs in this regard. For other institutions, financing decision is taken on the basis of the results of the call for project proposals. Implementation of research results depends on the nature of these studies. Sometimes increase knowledge about the forest, forest ecosystems, as is the case with basic research, sometimes offer practical solutions implemented directly into practice, such as computer software, devices, methods of monitoring the phenomena occurring in the forest, etc

27 Possible subjects for development with an Adaptive Managamet approach

28 Oportunities to increase the supply of wood for energy The achievement of expected energy wood harvesting will be favored in the future: Increase the harvesting level in relation to the volume increment, Adjustments felling age for certain species, such as the spruce, Catch up on tending cuttings, especially on private land, Increase the area of afforestation.

29 Oportunities to increase the supply of wood for energy Modification methods of pruning done for harvesting for energy purposes In the case of tending cuttings modification may include: The category of cuts (the principle of the selection of trees to be removed and crop trees) The intensity of the cuts, determining what portion of the stand is removed in one treatment, Periods between cuts. However, the silvicultural need of forest stand decides everything. Hence, it is very difficult to establish in advance an appropriate modification of tending cuttings. Experience shows that the most likely way to achieve the cuts is to change the method of selecting of crop trees, which is often a consequence of the change in the intensity of cuts.

30 References Forests in Poland State Forests Forestry Central Statistical Office Gil W. (2014) Ocena możliwości modyfikacji sposobów prowadzenia cięć pielęgnacyjnych pod kątem pozyskiwania drewna do celów energetycznych i ich wpływu na rozmiar użytkowania rębnego drzewostanów. [In:] Gołos P. (editor) Możliwości oraz uwarunkowania przyrodnicze, technologiczne i ekonomiczne zwiększania podaży drewna do celów energetycznych. Gołos P. (2011) Private forests in Poland results of questionnaire surveys covering the network of test forest holdings, Warszawa. Folia Forestalia Polonica, series A, 2011, Vol. 53 (1): National Policy on Forests. Ministry of Environmental Protection, Natural Resources and Forestry, approved by the Council of Ministers in 1997

31 Thank you!