The historical development of afforestations in Bulgaria was investigated. Some of the more important decisions and events which determine the correct state policy in the field of afforestations are pointed out. The most significant achievements are in: erosion control, incl. water tank protection from silting up; increasing the tree volume and forest growth; protection of agriculture via forest protection belts; landscape improving. The social importance for more employment and improvement of means of livelihood is mentioned. Proved reasons for decreasing the afforested areas since 1980s are given. The main mistakes and problems are mentioned as well as the changes in the afforestation policy and future challenges.

The experiments were led to study the effect of pretreatments and their duration on germination behavior of three Acacia species A. cyanophylla Lindl., A. farnesiana L. and A. decurrens Willd. by analyzing three parameters (GP: germination percentage; MGT: germination mean time (days) and GRI: germination rate index) for various times of incubation (5, 10 and 15 days) in Petri dishes. Pre-sowing treatment included immersion in concentrated sulphuric acid for 60, 90 and 120 minutes. The sowing in distilled water (Control) had no positive effect on the germination induction. Generally, the seed pretreatments were very useful to improve germination. Time of immersion significantly (P < 0.0001) affected GP, MGT and GRI in all species. Increasing the duration of sulphuric acid immersion (from 60 to 120 min) improved the germination percentages for A. cyanophylla and A. farnesiana seeds to (98% and 99%), respectively. However, increasing this duration had a negative effect on A. decurrens seed germination, reducing the final germination percentage from 97% at 60 minutes of immersion to 43% at 120 minutes.

In the past, the entire region of Poland was overgrown by forests. Due to economic changes, the forest cover was reduced to 40% in the 18th century and 21% after the Second World War. After the war, Polish foresters undertook considerable efforts to increase the forest cover to 30.8% by 2015. Polish forests are characterized by the dominance of oligo- and mesotrophic coniferous species (68.7%). This include the pioneer species, Scots pine. It covers approximately 60% of the area. The species composition of Polish forests determined the dominance of artificial regenerations. However, the currently prevailing direction of forest culture is natural regeneration. This tendency is related to “greening” of the forest management, the priority of PERSONAL durability over productivity and culture of multifunctional forests. A natural or seminatural direction of forest culture is being promoted. Renewal of the species such as fir, beech, oak, or spruce from the last stages of succession have always taken place in a natural manner, whereas the statistics are generated by the dominant species preferring open areas during renewal. Currently, the scale of natural regenerations of the pine is increasing. It is increasingly common to value the favorable economic aspect of natural renewal of the species, and the experience of practitioners supported by scientific research increase the likelihood for success. In Poland, the majority of methods of regeneration proceedings (forest cutting) and the law are directed at obtaining and promoting natural renewal. Independent of the concept of natural renewal promotion, the location of Poland in the intermediate climate zone, between the influence of oceanic and continental climates, resulted in the formation of valuable tree stands with high flexibility and tolerance to growth conditions. They are divided into seed stands, excluded stands, and timberlands. Thus, Poland is in possession of a great base for seed collection. At the beginning of 1990s, a rapid need for container seedlings occurred due to numerous disasters (wind-broken trees, gradations). Currently, in Poland, 17 field nurseries are in operation producing 1–10 million seedlings. In 1992, Poland received a loan from the World Bank to conduct afforestations and the “National Program for Increasing the Forest Cover” was started. The main objective of the plan is to increase the forest cover to 30% in 2020 and 33% in 2050. Within the program, it is planned to include vegetation of the natural succession in the area of approximately 80,000 ha. 

Two pH experiments were conducted at a sandy, bareroot loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) nursery in Texas. A sulfur trial (0, 813, 1626, 2439 kg ha^-1 of elemental sulfur) was installed to determine if lowering soil pH would result in nutrient toxicity symptoms and affect seedling morphology. Although soil acidity in the sulfur study ranged from pH 3.9 to pH 5.0, none of the treatments resulted in micronutrient toxicity and none affected height growth, root-collar diameter, root mass, shoot mass or the root-mass ratio (root dry mass/total dry mass). Acidifying soil with sulfur increased leaching of calcium, potassium, magnesium, manganese and zinc but there was no effect on seedling morphology. The objective of the liming trial (0, 813, 1626, 3252 kg ha^-1 of dolomitic lime) was to determine if increasing alkalinity would result in an iron deficiency and reduce seedling growth. As expected, applying lime increased the calcium and magnesium levels but had no effect on soil levels of iron, phosphorus, potassium, sulfur, zinc and sodium. However, the root-mass ratio was reduced by applications of dolomitic lime (pH ranged from 5.3 to 6.0). Differences in soil properties (i.e. plot location) had a greater effect on seedling morphology than lime applications. Foliage levels of manganese and boron were reduced by the highest rate of lime and sulfur, respectively.

Direct seeding has been considered a forest restoration option for centuries. Over the past half century, the use of this practice has declined in developed countries as forest regeneration programs have advanced with the production of quality seedlings that can successfully establish restoration sites. Direct seeding is being reconsidered as a restoration option as the potential size of the worldwide forest restoration program has grown because of massive deforestation in third-world nations and due to global climate change. This review examines direct seeding from a number of perspectives. First, merits of using this practice in restoration programs are defined. Major merits of this option are that it can be done quickly, over hard to reach and large disturbed areas, and at a relatively low cost. Second, current research findings from restoration programs are discussed. The major finding is that seedling establishment rates are low (i.e. typically around 20% of seeds planted) due to site conditions, seed predation and vegetation competition, and field performance (i.e. survival and growth) is lower than planted seedlings. Third, operational practices for the application in restoration programs are reviewed. To successfully conduct direct seeding programs practitioners need to consider seedbed receptivity, seed distribution and seeding rate. Fourth, potential new practices are presented. Some of these new practices attempt to create a more effective means to disperse seed across the site, minimize seed predation or create a more favorable microsite environment. This review provides a synthesis of what is known about direct seeding, thereby allowing practitioners to make a rational decision of whether to apply this practice towards their forest restoration program.

The afforestation of bare lands, sandstone, and skeletal terrains are one of the biggest challenges forestry scientists face. These terrains are characterized by specific ecological conditions that are generally unfavorable for the growth of woody species. These are usually shallow soils, unstable, and poor in nutrients and moisture. The characteristics of these habitats make said terrains unfavorable for the regeneration of forest vegetation. It is therefore crucial for the success of afforestation to gain detailed knowledge and understanding of environmental conditions. Only after the detailed research and study of field conditions can the selection of species for afforestation, including selection of species characteristics and technology of planting, begin. Mistakes made during previous establishments of green areas are one of the main reasons some species of vascular flora have disappeared. This alone expresses the undeniable importance of knowledge on habitat specifics, work schedule, and selection of species for afforestation. With the aim to implement the future afforestation within the planned scope, it is necessary to organize an effective nursery production of seedlings with characteristics that will suit the environmental conditions of bare lands, sandstones, and skeletal terrains whose afforestation is planned.

"The best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago. The second best time is now." Chinese proverb There are five million hectares of new forests planted each year, according to Global Forest Resources Assessment (FAO 2015). How successful are we in planting these new forests? What are challenges that practitioners meet today in planting forests? What are challenges that forests established today will face in decades to come? There is a myriad of research results and a body of knowledge large enough to understand principles behind the field performance of planted forests. The environment is dynamic and inputs and outputs continually change, so there is a constant need for new research ranging from the global to microsite scale, and from the ecosystem and species to the population and genotype scale. The journal Reforesta offers a new site for publishing research results, presenting experiences, and bringing forward novel ideas and discussions on reforestation issues. Reforesta editors will strive to combine academic excellence with professional relevance and wish to appeal to both the professional and academic communities. There are a large number of scientific journals, many of which deal with forest ecosystems. So a reasonable question could be: Do we need yet another professional journal? We say yes, because of the following reasons. Reforesta will be a "niche" journal, focusing on research stemming from sourcing seed, to nursery cultural operations, to field planting (e.g., afforestation, reforestation and forest restoration). In addition, Reforesta will cover topics of forest genetics, tree breeding, and stand silviculture. We will encourage the submission of papers that provide interest and value to the international readership dealing with planted forests, such as: 1) novel ideas or approaches to reforestation challenges; 2) connections between plant ecophysiology and seedling field performance; 3) testing of new techniques and products in production of forest reproductive material, and at the planting site; and 4) reviews and discussions on timely and important topics. Establishment of the new journal can be compared to establishing a new forest. Initiation of the Reforesta journal will be supported by the editorial team (i.e. planning and site-species or site-provenance matching). The team will then select appropriate papers from the contributions of willing authors (i.e. selection of planting material, nursery operations, and culling). Then the stage is set: the web-site is operational; the journal is registered and applied for indexing (i.e. site preparation, monitoring and feedback). The inaugural issue is published (i.e. seedlings are planted) and the research community is notified (i.e. post-planting silviculture operations). The parallel between Reforesta and establishing a new forest will continue. The future success of Reforesta will be dependent on the interaction with its contributors and readership. The future size of the Reforesta audience will be dependent on its ability to secure its niche, and to provide services to the professional forestry community, while developing a symbiotic relationship with other forestry journals (i.e. competition and/or facilitation). Performance of Reforesta will be measured by monitoring readership and response levels (i.e. reforestation success) and its lifespan will be defined by its resilience and adaptation potential. Reforesta will follow the open access policy of non-profit journals, with no processing charges applied to any accepted articles and no fees for accessing articles published by Reforesta. This principle ensures that forest research is free and available to forestry professionals in support of a greater global exchange of knowledge. Like planted forests, Reforesta hopes to grow in an open environment with appropriate tending from the editorial team, thereby growing with needs of the professional forestry community. The Reforesta journal has one additional advantage. It is established solely on the enthusiasm of the editorial team. As long as there are enthusiasts recognizing the need for Reforesta, the journal will continue to flourish. The editorial team is here to set the scientific standards and ethical rules for the journal. However, the ultimate direction of Reforesta depends on authors and readership. We are delighted to launch this new journal, a product of a joint venture between enthusiasts ranging from undergraduate students to senior researchers and scientists. Reforesta has one underwriting sponsor - The Scientific and Professional Society Reforesta. We thank them for their support. Under the leadership of Vladan Ivetić, Editor-In-Chief, who initiated the idea for Reforesta, and Steven Grossnickle, Consultant-Editor who plays a supporting role; we have a worthy team. The inaugural issue of the Reforesta journal is in form of Thematic Proceedings resulting from the International Conference on Reforestation Challenges, which took place on 3-6 June 2015 in Belgrade, Serbia. We wish to thank participants who attended the Conference and especially thank the invited authors who contributed to this inaugural issue. We are also grateful to the technical team, made up of excellent young students and researchers. We will continue to develop and fine-tune content to enhance the quality, scope and diversity of Reforesta as the journal grows into an established member of the professional forestry community. 

In this nursery experiment, 100 one-year-old northern red oak seedlings were measured at the end of the 2016 growing season. Measured growth elements were: total height, root collar diameter and total leaf area. All seedlings were classified according to the presence of polycyclism into four types: one-flush growth, two-flush growth, three-flush growth, and four-flush growth type. The number of new flushes (shoots) is a good indicator of total height, root collar diameter and total leaf area. 

This article focuses on the creation of seed sources for forest planting or seeding with a special focus on clonal seed orchards supporting planting Norway spruce and Scots pine in Sweden. Supporting long-term breeding and low input breeding is discussed. The focus is not on clonal forestry, although this is discussed. Natural regeneration is not dealt with and provenance choice only briefly. It is not a manual or literature review and focus on my own evaluations, but more detailed reviews can be found in the literature cited. It is intended to contribute some familiarity with many of the relevant genetic aspects on forest plantations.

In the keynote, major reforestation challenges in Scandinavia will be highlighted. The following countries make up Scandinavia: Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark. For Iceland, with only a forest cover of 2%, a major reforestation challenge is the deforestation and overgrazing in combination with land degradation and extensive soil erosion. The challenges include the conflicts with livestock farmers. For centuries the commons were used for sheep and horse grazing. However, more and more of farmer grazing land have been fenced up, allowing the regeneration of birch and plantations of other species to increase. With a forest cover of 37% and 69% respectively, for decades a major reforestation challenge in Norway and Sweden has been the risk of seedling damages from the pine weevil. Unprotected seedlings can have a survival rate of less than 25% after being planted. Pine weevils feed on the bark of planted young seedlings at regeneration sites. If the seedling is girdled, it will not survive. In Sweden, and soon in Norway, pesticides have been forbidden. In the keynote, new methods and technology will be presented based on non-chemical protection. In Finland, with a forest cover of 75%, a major reforestation challenge is linked to the forest structure. The structure of Finnish forestry includes many private forests in combination with small regeneration sites. This implies a situation where logistics and methods for lifting and field storage provide a major challenge in order to preserve seedling quality until the planting date. Due to this situation, new logistic systems and technologies are being developed in Finland, including new seedling cultivation programs (including cultivation under Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs)) to match the access of fresh planting stock to different planting dates. In Denmark, with a forest cover of 13%, a major reforestation challenge is the possibility of future plantations based on a wide range of relevant species. For this to become a realistic option, new methods and technology have to be developed in reforestation activities that support this possibility. These methods and technology should make it possible to not be limited to certain species due to problems and restrictions during field establishment. This due to the prospect of establishing stable, healthy, and productive stands of various forest species that can be adapted to future climate change.