Reforestation in Poland: History, Current Practice and Future Perspectives

Authors

  • Jacek Banach University of Agriculture in Krakow, Faculty of Forestry; Institute of Forest Ecology and Silviculture; Department of Genetics and Forest Tree Breeding, 29 Listopada Av. 46, 31-425 Krakow, Poland
  • Kinga Skrzyszewska University of Agriculture in Krakow, Faculty of Forestry; Institute of Forest Ecology and Silviculture; Department of Genetics and Forest Tree Breeding, 29 Listopada Av. 46, 31-425 Krakow, Poland
  • Jerzy Skrzyszewski University of Agriculture in Krakow, Faculty of Forestry; Institute of Forest Ecology and Silviculture; Department of Sylviculture; 29 Listopada Av. 46, 31-425 Krakow, Poland

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21750/REFOR.3.14.38

Keywords:

Poland, afforestation, forest nursery, seed base, natural regeneration, secondary succession

Abstract

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 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 m 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.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Andrzejczyk T, Aleksandrowicz-Trzcińska M, Żybura H (2009) Wpływ cięć rębnych na zagęszczenie, wzrost i stan zdrowotny odnowień naturalnych sosny w warunkach Nadleśnictwa Tuszyma. Leśne Prace Badawcze, 70 (1): 5–18.

Bernadzki E (2004) Postępy w zagospodarowaniu lasów. In E. Bernadzki (ed.) Z dziejów lasów państwowych i leśnictwa polskiego 1924–2004. Tom 3(1) Lata powojenne i współczesność, 123–172.

Bernadzki E (2011) Od uprawy do hodowli lasu. 250 lat sporu o kształtowanie lasu. In: R. Paluch (ed.) Półnaturalna hodowla lasu – przeszłość, teraźniejszość i przyszłość. Sękocin Stary, 9–20.

Buraczyk W (2013) Struktura i wartość hodowlana samosiewów gatunków drzewiastych w początkowej fazie sukcesji wtórnej na gruntach porolnych niżowej części Polski. Rozprawy Naukowe i Monografie. Wydawnictwo SGGW, Warszawa.

Dobrowolska D (2010) Warunki powstawania odnowień naturalnych sosny zwyczajnej (Pinus sylvestris L.) na terenie Nadleśnictwa Tuszyma. Leśne Prace Badawcze, 71 (3): 217–224.

Forest Europe (2015) State of Europe’s Forests 2015.

Forests in Poland (2016) W. Milewski (ed.). Published by The State Forests Information Center, Warszawa 2016.

Gorzelak A (2004) Zalesianie i zadrzewianie kraju. In: E. Bernadzki (ed.) Z dziejów lasów państwowych i leśnictwa polskiego 1924–2004. Tom 3(1) Lata powojenne i współczesność, 97–122.

Jaworski A (2011) Hodowla lasu bliska naturze. In: R. Paluch (ed.) Półnaturalna hodowla lasu - przeszłość, teraźniejszość i przyszłość. Sękocin Stary, 55–72.

Krawczyk R (2014) Afforestation and secondary succession. Forest Research Papers, 75 (4): 423–427. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/frp-2014-0039

Mlinšek D (1966) Slobodna tehnika gajenja šuma. Beograd, Šumarstvo No 11–12, 3–9.

MOŚZNiL (1995) Krajowy program zwiększania lesistości. Ministerstwo Ochrony Środowiska, Zasobów Naturalnych i Leśnictwa, Warszawa.

Poland - The State Forest in Figures – 2016. W. Milewski (ed.). Published by The State Forests Information Center, Warszawa 2016.

Rostek K, Biernat A (2017) Szkółkarstwo kontenerowe w Lasach Państwowych – wczoraj, dziś i jutro. Konferencja „Efekty i doświadczenia wdrażania produkcji kontenerowej w Lasach Państwowych”. Jabłonna, 22 marca 2017 r.

Skrzyszewski J, Pach M (2015) Crookedness of pedunculate oak (Quercus robur L.) growing under a canopy of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.). Scand. J. Forest Res., 30(8): 688–698. https://doi.org/10.1080/02827581.2015.1048713 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02827581.2015.1048713

Szymański S, Urbański K (1997) Działalność gospodarcza lasów państwowych i jej wyniki. Hodowla lasu. In: J. Broda (ed.) Lasy państwowe w Polsce w latach 1944–1990. PWN, Warszawa, 133–150.

Zajączkowski J (2011) Idee i ideologie w hodowli lasu. In: R. Paluch (ed.) Półnaturalna hodowla lasu - przeszłość, teraźniejszość i przyszłość. Sękocin Stary, 41–54.

ZHL (2012) Zasady Hodowli Lasu. Załącznik do Zarządzenia nr 53 Dyrektora Generalnego Lasów Państwowych z dnia 21 listopada 2011 r. Wyd. Centrum Informacyjne Lasów Państwowych, Warszawa.

Downloads

Published

2017-07-01

Issue

Section

Review articles

How to Cite

“Reforestation in Poland: History, Current Practice and Future Perspectives”. REFORESTA, no. 3 (July 1, 2017): 185–195. Accessed November 26, 2024. https://journal.reforestationchallenges.org/index.php/REFOR/article/view/64.