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The presented study shows the effects of climate uncertainty, characterized using three different climate projections, on growth and yield in four regions of the north German lowlands (tab. 1). We examine whether climate uncertainty affects forest management or whether different silvicultural concepts might eviscerate the climatic effects in forest development. Three silvicultural concepts are applied: the reference scenario defined by the principles of close-to-nature silviculture, the biodiversity strategy indending to increase the area of natural vegetation, and the climate protection path trying to maximize CO2 sequestration (tab. 3). The simulation system WaldPlaner with site- and climate- sensitive growth functions projects forest development in the four regions from 2011 to 2070 applying the three silvicultural concepts as well as three climate projections (fig. 1). Climatic and silvicultural effects are directly comparable as the projection excludes any tree or forest losses due to risk factors, i.e. no interaction of mortality and forest development is simulated. The starting conditions in the four regions, i.e. site and climate characteristics (tab. 2, fig. 2), age class distribution (fig. 3) and species proportions (tab. 5) heavily influence the projected forest development. The scenario study shows the clear effects of climatic uncertainty on standing and harvested volume (fig. 4, tab. 6), on periodic annual increment (fig. 5) and on the prescribed yield index (fig. 6, tab. 8). Climatic uncertainty increases with time. Nevertheless, we show that silvicultural measures are capable to control forest development to a much stronger degree. A subsequent risk analysis is indispensable to recommend management options or to derive adaptation strategies. Here, we show the effect of climate uncertainty and silvicultural practices on risk factors using drought vulnerability as an example (tab. 5, fig. 6). Obviously the climate effect is much stronger on drought vulnerability than the silvicultural effect. This result is contrary to the effects on growth and yield. Keeping in mind the strong influence of climatic uncertainty on climate-sensitive risk factors forest management needs to plan responsibly and forest conversion must not be in stereotypes. A flexible formulation of adaptation strategies continuously acknowledging progress in climate change research is necessary. The results of the presented scenario study help to evaluate the climate effects, the degree of uncertainty and silvicultural alternatives on forest development in order to recommend management options and to derive adaptation strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dissolution of existing relationships in the context of changes in the timber selling process made new ways of cooperation necessary. New ways of cooperation can be understood as social innovations. In previous research, interaction relationships for social innovation have been cited as important but not considered in detail (e. g. KLUVÁNKOVÁ et al., 2018; NIJNIK et al., 2019) Thus, the aim of the paper is to identify factors that promote and inhibit social innovation within forest management cooperatives (FMC), which are based among other things on interactions. This paper is based on a theoretical approach informed by actor-centered institutionalism and complemented by the concept of path dependency (see Fig. 1), in order to take into account actor constellations, their interactions, the influence of historical events and decisions that have existed for years or decades. The results are based on the one hand on a qualitative content analysis of guideline interviews with board members and managing directors of FMC in Baden-Württemberg and on the other hand on the evaluation of a quantitative online survey of 86 FMC in Baden-Württemberg. By using the described mixed-method approach, five clusters could be identified (see Table 5): Entrepreneurs, Self-employed in timber supply and sales, Outsourcers, Volunteers with state help and State influenced. Certain constellations, the underlying strategies, the forms of interaction of FMC and their cooperation partners are highlighted as promoting or inhibiting factors for cooperation and thus social innovation. Furthermore, extraordinary events and their development paths determine new ways of cooperation between actors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With this article we try to give an extensive overview of the development of the Faustmann model (cf. Figure 1). Goal of the article is to outline and discuss the basic assumptions behind the Faustmann formula and describe the developments of the Faustmann model with regard to main trends and changes in forestry throughout history. The basic idea of the Faustmann theory was outlined in Great Britain by HOUGHTON ([1683] 1727-1728), HOUGHTON ([1701] 1727-1728), RICHARDS ([1730] 1971) and, finally, by WATSON (1794) and MARSHALL (1808) explaining that the interest rate of a forest stand is closely linked to its tree growth. In Germany, KÖNIG (1835) gave recommendations for forest evaluation and methodological insights regarding the determination of the optimal rotation period. However, only with the article of FAUSTMANN (1849) and his introduction of the land expectation value, forest evaluation gained interest and relevance in forest economics. With the discussion about the land rent theory at the end of the 19th century, the model moved into focus (PRESSLER, 1860b). We point out that with OHLIN (1921), besides questions of forest evaluation, the issue of determining the optimal rotation period became more important. OHLIN (1921) formulated the first order condition for an interior solution of the rotation period problem. Although Ohlin, Pressler and Faustmann discussed the Faustmann model throughout the late 19th and early 20th century, only after the Second World War, the Faustmann model increasingly gained in importance in forest economics. In the context of the general investment theory, the Faustmann model is based on the idea of dynamic investment calculation and is a special case of the net present value reflecting not only the limitation of capital but also the limitation of the forest land (MÖHRING, 2009). Various research was published discussing the question about determining the optimal rotation period, first under simple but later also under more complex silvicultural scenarios (PEARSE, 1967; WORRELL, 1953). In this context, the thinning problem as a problem of the control theory which can be solved with dynamic optimization was introduced by SCHREUDER (1971) and further developed throughout the last decades (BORCHERT, 2002). Moreover, with its increasing relevance through the second half of the 20th century, methodological discussions about the Faustmann formula and its assumptions arose. SAMUELSON (1976) presented one of the most important critical reviews about the Faustmann model not criticizing the model itself but its application in research and practice. He stated that the basic assumptions made within the Faustmann theory are the premise for the development of simple solutions for complex problems. These assumptions needed to be clarified and discussed as part of the scientific research (SAMUELSON, 1976). We outline the basic assumptions of the Faustmann theory in this paper and how various research tried to overcome selected basic assumptions to generate additional insights in forest management behavior. Examples are the assumption of stable conditions of costs and prices, or the validity of the Faustmann model on business instead of stand level. CHANG (1998) generalized the Faustmann theory to meet the demand of a volatile economic environment in forest economics. This generalization enables the application of the Faustmann model in an environment of changing costs, prices and discount rates (CHANG, 1998). Whereas CHANG (1998) discussed the effect of changing costs and prices on a theoretical basis, MÜLLER und HANEWINKEL (2018) took up the discussion and set it into the context of historical cost and price changes. They concluded with respect to historical developments that already within one rotation period parameter changes can have a significant effect on the land expectation value (cf. Figures 2 and 3). Another example is the extension of the Faustmann model from stand level to the forest level (REED und ERRICO, 1986) which is also based on a control theory approach and was intensively discussed through the end of the last century (YIN und NEWMAN, 1997; TAHVONEN und VIITALA, 2006). Besides methodological discussions in the 1970s and influenced by the environmental movement, the Faustmann model was set in the context of ecosystem services beyond timber production for the first time. HARTMAN (1976) discussed how the optimal rotation period changes once the recreational value is incorporated as part of the land expectation value. In this paper we outline the challenges coming with the evaluation of eco - system services such as biodiversity protection (CHRISTIE et al., 2006; YOUSEFPOUR und HANEWINKEL, 2009; AMACHER et al., 2014), recreational value generation (OESTEN, 1994; ELSASSER und WELLER, 2013; EDWARDS et al., 2011) and carbon sequestration (KÖTHKE und DIETER, 2010). Until today, the valuation of such ecosystem services is an important research topic in forest economics (YOUSEFPOUR et al., 2010). Under the impression of the forest dieback discussion in the 1980s, the winter storms of the 1990s and the recent climate change discussions, the role of risk and uncertainty gained high relevance as additional factor within the Faustmann model. REED (1984) incorporated risks from natural hazards within the Faustmann model and outlined that it can be seen as premium to the discount rate. LOISEL (2011) described the effect of storm risk on the LEV, the optimal rotation period and other forest management decisions. With respect to the uncertainties from climate change, HANEWINKEL et al. (2013) demonstrated that, depending on the applied climate scenarios, the loss of the current land expectation value within European forests amounts to 14-50% due to climate change. Finally, this article discusses the importance of the Faustmann model in forestry showing that today the Faustmann model is of more relevance for forestry practice outside Germany - especially in Scandinavia and North America. Furthermore, it is discussed that the Faustmann model nowadays is only one of many elements in forest valuation due to the fact that profit maximization as limiting principle of the Faustmann theory is of decreasing relevance for forest economics. Finally, this article highlights the diversity of applications of the Faustmann model which evolved throughout 170 years of forest history. Whereas the Faustmann model was originally developed to determine the value of forest land (FAUSTMANN, 1849), with PRESSLER (1860b) and OHLIN (1921) the Faustmann theory became the most important instrument of the forest investment theory. However, the value of the Faustmann model for forest investment decisions is limited especially for forestry regions with long rotation periods due to high uncertainties resulting from production times (COORDES, 2014). However, even under long rotation periods, the Faustmann theory is a useful framework to facilitate and structure investment decision-making in forestry. Furthermore, throughout the last 170 years, the Faustmann model developed towards a main analysis instrument of forest economics. In this article, we show that within a predefined theoretical framework countless analyses were conducted to describe forest management decisionmaking on the one hand and to evaluate the effect of changing environmental conditions on the other hand. Finally, the variety of the Faustmann model in science is the basis on which future research can be build on. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plastics are both low-cost and almost arbitrarily longlasting materials also used for numerous products in forest management. However, plastic products constitute a significant share of solid waste and show a varying persistence in the environment. Although the use of plastics in terrestrian and marine environments is already widely discussed, a comprehensive and critical appraisal of treeshelters and treeguards has not yet been conducted. This is all the more surprising as they are the most important applications of plastic products in German forestry. When considering the strict specifications of close-to-nature and sustainable forest management in Germany, there is an urgent need for a comprehensive assessment of treeshelter and treeguard use taking into account environmental as well as forestry legislation. This study assesses plastic product use in forests based on federal legislation and for two selected states, Baden-Württemberg and North Rhine-West - phalia. We analysed a) which environmental laws and norms are applicable to treeshelters at the end of their life span of, b) which are the resulting consequences for their use in forestry practice, and c) which solutions exist for further use of commercially available treeshelters and innovative new treeshelters. Five groups of tree shelters have been assessed: A/made of plastic with a long life span, B/oxo-degradable plastic, each without certification on degradation, C/compostable plastics certified by DIN EN-norms, D/wood, paper or jute without information on impregnation treatment as well as E/treeshelters without any information on the material used nor certification. The assessment takes into account federal legislation, particularly the forest act, the nature conservation act as well as the corresponding legislation at the state level. The study comes to the conclusion that leaving any type of treeshelters in the forests after they have fulfilled their protective purpose, doesn't conform with the laws in force. As well the forest act requires treeshelters from group A, B, D and E to be removed. Only treeshelters from group C can potentially be left at the site of installation, under the condition of fast degradation without any residues of microplastics and other contaminants and under the condition that their decomposition products are completely integrating into natural cycle of materials. The current practice of leaving treeshelters on site or just hesitant removal and restrained disposal after having fulfilled their purpose clearly contradicts legal provisions in the two German states under consideration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plastics are both low-cost and almost arbitrarily longlasting materials also used for numerous products in forest management. However, plastic products constitute a significant share of solid waste and show a varying persistence in the environment. Although the use of plastics in terrestrian and marine environments is already widely discussed, a comprehensive and critical appraisal of treeshelters and treeguards has not yet been conducted. This is all the more surprising as they are the most important applications of plastic products in German forestry. When considering the strict specifications of close-to-nature and sustainable forest management in Germany, there is an urgent need for a comprehensive assessment of treeshelter and treeguard use taking into account environmental as well as forestry legislation. This study assesses plastic product use in forests based on federal legislation and for two selected states, Baden-Württemberg and North Rhine-Westphalia. We analysed a) which environmental laws and norms are applicable to treeshelters at the end of their life span of, b) which are the resulting consequences for their use in forestry practice, and c) which solutions exist for further use of commercially available treeshelters and innovative new treeshelters. Five groups of tree shelters have been assessed: A/made of plastic with a long life span, B/oxodegradable plastic, each without certification on degradation, C/compostable plastics certified by DIN ENnorms, D/wood, paper or jute without information on impregnation treatment as well as E/treeshelters without any information on the material used nor certification. The assessment takes into account federal legislation, particularly the circular economy act, the soil protection act and the bio-waste ordinance. The study comes to the conclusion that leaving any type of treeshelters in the forests after they have fulfilled their protective purpose, doesn't conform with the laws in force. Particularly, the circular economy act requires treeshelters from group A, B, D and E to be removed. Only treeshelters from group C can potentially be left at the site of installation, if they are reduced to small pieces which in turn are mixed with topsoil. However, even for such a practice a specific permit needs to be granted from the authority responsible for circular economy in consent with the forest authority. The current practice of leaving treeshelters on site or just hesitant removal and restrained disposal after having fulfilled their purpose clearly contradicts legal provisions in Germany. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the leaching of metals from conventional and alternative game shot in an artificial substrate with minimal sorption capacity in order to acquire first values for a riskassessment of the emission of shot to the terrestrial environment. For this purpose, a collective of different shots was selected with special regards to different materials, coatings and market relevance (Tab. 1). Percolation tests were conducted under acidic and alkaline conditions referring to SCHWARZ et al. (2015). With the exception of antimony, higher metal leaching was observed under acidic conditions. Furthermore, metal leaching from non-corroded shot (at the beginning of percolation; Tab. 3) can considerably differ from the metal release of corroded shot (at the end of percolation; Tab. 4). Assessing the leaching behavior of the shot types Fiocchi Steel Shot, Rottweil Steel Game and Eley Bismuth Alphamax they showed no exceedance of the used test values for the pathway soil-groundwater (Tab. 3 and Tab. 4) given by the German soil protection directive (BBODSCHV). Additional regards to different ecotoxicological rankings of investigated materials for ammunition by LEPPER et al. (2003) and FÄTH and GÖTTLEIN (2015) conclude that not only the input of lead, but also the emission of copper, nickel and zinc into the environment has to be regarded. As shown by the leaching behavior of a tin-coated lead shot, coatings could be a possible solution to reduce heavy metal release. However, coatings can also be the main source of heavy metal release as observed for the coated steel shot Winchester Blind Side. The critical leaching of metals from some alternative shots as well as the detected consumer fraud of "lead-free" ammunition (FOB Sweet Copper) requires standardized test criteria for game shot available on the market. Finally, regarding the applicability of a material for use in game shot the aspects of killing efficiency, hunting safety, gun compatibility and hygienics of game meat have to be additionally taken into account, besides ecotoxicological issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the assessment of the nutritional status of trees in addition to the foliar nutrient concentrations also nutrient ratios can be used. In this paper nutrient ratios were derived from the thresholds of the range of normal nutrition, and, as far as possible, compared with literature data. Literature data for harmonic element ratios show a fairly wide range of values, causing that the lowest literature value for the upper limit is often lower than the highest value for the lower limit (Fig. 2). Nutrient relations derived from the threshold data of normal nutrition fit well in the range spanned by literature values (Fig. 2). The used calculation scheme (Fig.1) allows to specify for all species and all nutrient relations a harmonic range and a more close optimum range (Tab.1). Taking the upper limit of the optimum range of the element ratios as a measure of the minimum requirement of a tree for a nutrient element, relative to N or K, and calculating a molar ratio, tree species can be compared with respect to their nutrient demand (Fig. 3). It turns out, that the main tree species of central Europe are close together in terms of their P-demand, while for Mg and especially for Ca the demand of ash and sycamore is well above that of other tree species. Because the molar ratios on the basis of 100 N resp. 100 K have advantages as compared to the up to now calculated ratios they should be preferred as calculation and evaluation scheme (Tab. 3). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the specific property rights, forest management has to deal with hunting and recreation regularly, at least in Germany and Austria. However, formal account- ing and controlling at the forest enterprise level is traditionally focused on timber production. The example of the Austrian Forest Accountancy Data Network provides evidence for the significance of these operational activities, thereby indicating a certain demand for respective controlling. It has to be considered though, that the motivation behind such activities is not necessarily the generation of income. Managerial interests may be affected irrespective of actual production processes. For example opportunity for recreational hunting by the owner or controlling negative impacts on operational activities by recreationists can be explicit goals. As such they need to be defined operationally in terms of content, extent and time to provide respective yardsticks for controlling. This comprises monetary figures like costs and revenues as well as natural data. The aim of this paper is to conceptually advance controlling instruments for auxiliary activities and to provide references for practitioners. To this end we provide a basis of appropriate figures for hunting and recreation. This covers inputs, outputs, processes and reference units (tables 1 and 2) as well as the in this context novel concept of outcomes. Furthermore indicators for effects of these two operational activities and timber production on one another (table 3) are considered. Empirical references are derived from publications of German and Austrian state forest organizations, from internal material provided by the Municipal Forestry Department of the city of Vienna and from a survey of forest managers. We discuss our results in the light of general theoretical criteria as well as practical requirements for the use of information in the context forest enterprise controlling. Especially the trade-off between the validity of indicators on the one hand and the costs of information on the other has to be taken into account, when appraising the usefulness of any practical application in a specific organisation. Ultimately operationally defined indicators for goals, inputs, outputs and outcomes all are prerequisite for the assessment of efficiency and effectivity. Based on our findings further perspectives for operational level controlling in the field of auxiliary activities of forest enterprises are outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Searching for possibilities to adapt our forests to the climate change, the question of the suitability of introduced tree species is discussed. To get an idea about the growth performance of these tree species under present growth and climate conditions, but also to examine the success of such experiments, the existing database of introduced tree species available at the Forest Research Station of Baden-Wuerttemberg was evaluated (Fig. 1). 15 out of the 40 introduced tree species with 431 plots being available on the data base, proved to be suitable for a statistical evaluation (Tab. 1). These experiments were analysed with regard to the relation of top height and age (using the Sloboda function, Tab. 3) respectively with regard to the relation of top height and total volume production (using a multiple polynomial regression, Tab. 4). The results gained for Abies grandis (Fig. 2 - Fig. 4), Larix kaempferi (Fig. 5 - Fig. 8) and Quercus rubra (Fig. 9 - Fig. 14) are presented more detailed in the paper. Moreover, top height site indices and total volume production of some of the introduced species were compared to that of adjacent experiments with the „main“ tree species Picea abies, Abies alba, Pseudotsuga menziesii, Fagus sylvatica and Quercus spec. (Tab. 2, Fig. 15 and 16). The comparison revealed that with respect to growth performance, Abies grandis and Pseudotsuga menziesii are clearly superior. Under comparable site conditions, Larix kaempferi reaches similar top heights like Picea abies and Abies alba, but a significantly lower total volume production. Quercus rubra equals Fagus sylvatica with regard to top heights as well as total yield and outperforms the native oak species. All the other introduced tree species for which this comparison could be made, were inferior in terms of productivity to the main tree species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]