Description

Forestry in Central and Eastern European countries is going through a turbulent phase, caused by an uncertain economic situation, ownership changes and envisaged memberships of the European Union. Additionally, recent developments in the environment give reasons for concern, like the effects of air pollution, acidification and possible climate change. Another recent development in Europe is the tendency to shift towards a more nature oriented forest management. The aim of the book is to give insight in possible future development directions of the forests of CEC and NIS countries in order to contribute to current discussions about sustainability, the future biological potential, management options and impacts of environmental changes. With a large scale scenario model (EFISCEN), a quantitative assessment of future wood production in Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary and Ukraine, its degree of sustainability under various scenarios of forest growth and timber harvest, and the overall consequences of forest decline and climate change on future wood supply was made.