Issues

Taxus contorta Griff. is an endangered conifer tree species. It is found in patchy habitats throughout its natural occurrences along with certain altitudinal ranges in the Himalayan region. The present study involves the stand structure, regeneration status and biomass of Taxus species in the Narkanda forest that occupies an area of 11.4 km2 with an altitudinal range of 2400 m to 3000 m a.s.l. in Shimla district of Himachal Pradesh. A total of 24 square plots, each plot of area 0.16 ha, were laid in four main geographical directions (i.e., north, northeast, southwest and southeast) with equal six plots in each slope exposure. The result showed that T. contorta is found only in three slopes (north, northeast and southwest) exposures with the main association of Abies pindrow (Royle ex D.Don) Royle species. The absence of Taxus species occurrences slope exposure (southeast) was dominated by Quercus semecarpifolia Sm. Based on the results, this study documented that conservation of an endangered species should be done through silvicultural practices for its sustainable regeneration in northern slope exposure. Additionally, the adult tree of T. contorta must be conserved specially for pollination purposes, fertile seed production and dispersion of seeds exposing the open canopy closure through the thinning of common and dominated species. Finally, it is recommended that any kind of human disturbances should be strictly prohibited inside Taxus occurrence forest.

Indonesia’s natural forests consist of various land and stand qualities, both highly degraded. In the past few years, the forest area has continued to decline. Gap planting is one of the silviculture techniques which can increase the productivity of the low potential tropical natural forest, mainly by using fast-growing species with short cutting rotation. The objective of this research was to study the impacts of gap planting on soil compaction and erosion in the Indonesian lowland tropical rain forest. Soil compaction was measured using Humbolt-Digital Statis Cone Penetrometer, soil erosion was measured using erosion pins and gap area was measured using Hexadecagon Method. The result shows that using gap planting causes soil compaction in gaps with an area of less than or equal to 250 m2 and 1250–1500 m2. However, the compaction value is classified as very loose soil so that it can be ignored. Otherwise, gap planting, using planting strips and chop off strips, has a positive impact by lowering erosion at gap size less than or equal to 250 to 2000 m2.

This study analyses the implementation of forest education in 13 German federal states in combination with the number of applicants for a vocational education in forestry, as well as the number of students at the faculties of forestry in Germany. Obtained results show that establishing the basics of forest didactics and taking into account educational topics beside the classical knowledge of woodland species, furthers the interest in forests and forest professions in general. The number of students in the university can be considered to be a suitable indicator for a good establishment of forest didactics and a general interest in forests, while the number of applicants in vocational education can be considered to be an indicator for a holistic and sustainable approach to forest education, according to this study.

Variations in some physiological parameters of European beech (FS) and wild cherry (PA) saplings were studied in the second (2016), fifth (2019), and seventh year (2021) after windthrow disturbance in a monodominant European beech forest. Net photosynthetic rate (AN), transpiration rate (E), water-use efficiency (WUE), and total chlorophyll content (TCC) of FS and PA saplings were measured both in a windthrow site (W) and in a closed-canopy site (C). The physiological measurements in C-site were used as a control for the comparisons with W-site. European beech leaves on W-site had a positive photosynthetic response to higher light intensity only in 2019, while in the wild cherry leaves, similar increase was observed in 2016 and 2021. At the end of the study period, E of FS and PA leaves were equalized between W-site and C-site and between the two species. However, two years after windthrow, FS saplings had a similar transpiration rate in the two sample sites, while PA saplings had significantly higher transpiration in the W-site. In 2019, FS leaves managed to increase its Е in windthrow site, but it remained high in the PA’s leaves. WUE remained unchanged in W-site at the beginning of the experimental period for both species, but this physiological parameter was significantly higher in FS saplings. In 2019, the WUE in FS leaves was stabilized, while in the PA leaves, it even increased. In 2021, both species had stable levels of WUE. In W-site, the FS leaves had the same TCC throughout the experimental period, while such a parameter was higher in W-site in the PA leaves. Better physiological adaptation of PA to changed microclimatic conditions after the windthrow disturbance is probably the main reason for this species’ pioneer character and rapid colonization of the territory. The protective role of herbaceous plants, which invade in a windthrow site, allows FS to save the physiological activity and even increase physiological processes and parameters a few years after disturbances.

To optimize the use and management of Ukrainian Carpathians forest fund territories, ecological tourism is actively promoted by the government and reflected in the leisure sector. The attention of economists is mainly drawn to the market value of forest areas and forest resources. However, the trend is changing as the non-market values of forests are increasingly assessed and measured. This case study assessed the potential value of ecological tourism development using the contingent valuation method. A total of 235 respondents were interviewed in four regions of Ukraine. The results showed that most visitors to the Ukrainian Carpathians are willing to pay for ecological tourism on these territories. The average value was 35 USD per day in the conditions of organised ecological tourism and 10 USD per day in the conditions of individual ecological tourism on the territories of Ukrainian Carpathians forest fund. The results may justify financial support from the state for the development of ecological tourism and the adoption of relevant regulations. Prospects for it depend on the level of well-being and education of citizens, as well as the distance from the place of residence of the respondents to the territories of Ukrainian Carpathians forest fund. Regarding organised ecological tourism, the prospects for the development depend on certification of tour operators providing services.

This work depicts the plan of the volume-space arrangement of the Novooleksandrivsky park in Melitopol, Zaporizhzhya region, Ukraine. All of the landscape composition structures are present in the park plan. Nevertheless, in some cases the ornamental plant species and forms of the trees aren´t regularly used. The low percentage of open spaces doesn’t permit to create multiplan compositions. Some species like Platycladus orientalis, Juniperus virginiana tend to lose their ornamental properties, reducing their aesthetic values. It is not characteristic of a national monument of gardening art.

In Ukraine and elsewhere on the planet, study of climate change effects on forests is ofgreat public interest. The study aimed to evaluate climate humidity dynamics in the 21st century according to Vorobiev indicator under RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5 scenarios. E-OBS and EURO-CORDEX project climate data were used. Climate humidity indicator by Vorobiev was used to assess the suitability of climatic conditions for forests (suitable conditions are from fresh to wet forest types). In the current climate condition in Ukraine the climate humidity varies from very dry in the south to very wet in the Carpathians. Dry (30 %) and fresh (40.1 %) types dominate. Comparing to 1961–1990, aridity has increased, boundaries of climatic zones shifted by 1 class to the north for the plains of Ukraine and to higher elevation for the Carpathians. In the Forest and the Forest-Steppe zones the fresh climate prevails, wet climate becomes less represented. Climate condition suitable for forests covers about 50 % of the country area. Both scenarios show a further aridity increase and climate zones shift to the north. Under the RCP 4.5, the areas of wet and fresh climate are expected to decrease with substitution by dry climate. In 2040–2060 the area of conditions suitable for forests will decrease to 37 % of the country area, and to 30 % in 2080–2100. Favourable conditions for the forest will remain only in the Carpathians, the western Forest-Steppe and partly in Forest zones. Under the RCP 8.5 scenario, the process of climate aridization will accelerate: dry climate types are expected to dominate. The area suitable for forest conditions will decrease significantly to 30 % in the middle and to 10 % at the end of the century. 

We examined the effects of two mycorrhizae fungi (endomycorrhiza and ectomycorrhiza) and varying moisture supply on certain growth parameters of Cassia fistula L. seedlings. The seedlings were inoculated with endomycorrhiza and ectomycorrhiza, compared with no mycorrhiza, and watered every day, every other day and once a week for a period of 12 weeks. The results revealed that mycorrhiza contributed significantly to relative water content while moisture supply also significantly influenced shoot height, collar diameter, leaf number, fresh weight of leaves, turgid weight of leaves, fresh weight of shoots, and fresh weight of roots. However, interaction of mycorrhiza and moisture supply had no significant effect on seedling growth of C. fistula but endomycorrhiza at watering every other day had the best growth performance.

Understanding the essential contribution of community forests for industrial development or climate change mitigation principally requires the accurate measurement of merchantable wood and aboveground biomass. However, the quantification of those parameters using the destructive method requires high cost and time consuming. To anticipate these constraints, allometric equations development has a potential contribution to facilitate a more efficient estimation of wood and biomass production without disturbing forest regeneration capacity. Therefore, this study aimed to develop allometric equations for quantifying merchantable wood and aboveground biomass of community forest tree species. The destructive sampling was carried out on 45 trees from three species (15 trees each), namely Swietenia macrophylla King, Falcataria moluccana (Miq.) Barneby et J.W.Grimes, and Tectona grandis L.f. Furthermore, three general allometric equations were examined using some predictor variables, i.e. diameter at breast height (D), quadrat diameter at breast height combined with tree height (D2∙H), as well as D and H separately. The results showed the highest average of merchantable wood and aboveground biomass recorded in S. macrophylla (0.41 ±0.10 m3; 0.33 ±0.07 t), followed by T. grandis (0.20 ±0.07 m3; 0.18 ±0.06 t) and F. moluccana (0.16 ±0.05 m3; 0.06 ±0.02 t). Meanwhile, the relative contribution of foliage biomass to total aboveground biomass gradually declined along with the increasing diameter classes. In contrast, a fluctuating trend was observed in the stem and branch. Also, equation ln Y = lna + b∙lnD was best in quantifying the wood and biomass. The addition of H as a predictor variable in the equations did not show a meaningful influence to increase accuracy estimation in the species. Based on these results, it was concluded that the development of allometric equations was reliable to facilitate more efficient estimation of merchantable wood and aboveground biomass for community forest tree species with over 95 % accuracy.