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In 2012, was published to guide policy and research and to support Canada's obligations for climate change mitigation and adaptation, sustainable forest management, and international reporting. Over the past decade, the body of scientific research focused on forest carbon dynamics in Canada has significantly evolved, providing crucial insights into the intricate interplay between various forest ecosystems and the global carbon cycle. This comprehensive review synthesizes key findings from this period, highlighting improvements to Canada's estimates of current forest greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and removals, the effects of global changes on Canada's future forest carbon, and forest contributions to mitigate climate change. Collaborating with the forest carbon science community, we identified 426 peer-reviewed published articles on landscape-scale forest carbon research for Canada from 2012 to 2021. The review emphasizes anthropogenic influences and natural disturbances in contemporary GHG emissions and removals for managed forests in the national GHG inventory, highlights the existing dichotomy between management and research models, and stresses the need for integrating disturbance and climate effects for comprehensive GHG estimates. Despite significant progress in estimating and tracking forest carbon using modelled, remotely sensed, and ground-based observations, challenges remain in reducing uncertainties, particularly regarding climate impacts on forest growth, decay, and disturbances. Furthermore, the review showcases recent advancements in climate change mitigation strategies and the use of a systems approach that includes forest ecosystem emissions and removals, wood product emissions, and substitution benefits of avoided fossil emissions. Through comprehensive scenario analyses, the review underscores regional variations in assessing GHG reductions and notes a shift towards a more holistic approach that considers environmental, economic, and social values. By providing a nuanced understanding of the complexities underlying forest carbon dynamics in Canada, this review sets the stage for future research and policy initiatives aimed at fostering sustainable forest management practices and mitigating the impact of climate change on these vital ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to remain competitive, the company's management must consider the corporate culture as a factor that influences the success of the company. The aim of this research study is to identify corporate culture and examine the influence of selected socio-demographic factors that can influence management concerning corporate culture. Research was carried out in the forest and wood-processing sector in Slovakia on a sample of 2447 respondents. It utilized the Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument. The findings indicate that a hierarchy and clan corporate culture were prevalent. The companies were characterized by their formalized and structured work environments as well as by their promotion of family-like relationships within the workplace, too. In terms of the preferred corporate culture, the clan corporate culture was clearly favored for the future. Success should be understood in relation to the internal environment and care for each employee. Following the results, the socio-demographic factors had an influence on management concerning the corporate culture. Therefore, it is essential for managers to tailor their approaches to the individual characteristics of each employee towards establishing a corporate culture that supports mutual relations in the workplace. This can affect the overall success and long-term sustainability of the company. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The carbon substitution and storage effects related to Norwegian forests and the forest sector were compared under three potential roundwood harvest scenarios: maintaining harvests at 2021 levels, increasing harvests by 20% due to policies aimed at maximizing economic benefits from the forest sector, and reducing harvests by 20% due to biodiversity concerns. For harvested wood products, both the current product structure and hypothetical alternatives were considered. The carbon stock development in forests was projected using a forestry simulation tool for Norway. Many uncertainties in carbon storage, substitution parameters, and data have been addressed using Monte Carlo simulations. Shifting a portion of pulpwood use to produce wood-based insulation materials and textile fibres was found to increase the climate benefits from the Norwegian forest sector. In contrast, the shift to bioethanol production had only a marginal effect compared to the current production structure. The analysis spanned the next two decades, which is a period relevant to the investment and operational lifespan of industrial facilities. The results suggest that during this time, smarter use of harvested roundwood for HWPs with high carbon substitution benefits can be an effective means of climate change mitigation. However, in the long term, enhancing forest carbon sinks by reducing harvests may be more beneficial for the climate, provided that global efforts to reduce emissions from energy production are successful and lead to a decrease in emissions associated with the production of various materials.

We draw insights regarding intricacies with spatially explicit data and analyses when studying the vulnerability of forest socio-ecological systems to disruptive abiotic and biotic factors. Common issues associated with data include location precision, spatial delimitation, methodological comparability, and measurement consistency. Spatial data analyses are challenged by issues of interpolation and extrapolation, inferences using data at different spatial scales, and assessment of disruption impacts at detectable spatial scales. The inextricable empirical nature of spatial data and analyses requires carefully conducting and disclosing the sensitivity of findings, and including robustness tests to openly inform decision-makers on issues of uncertainty associated with possible interventions. These considerations might be central to identifying forest socio-ecological hotspots as forest-dominated geographic areas encompassing social and ecological systems vulnerable to disruptions caused by abiotic and biotic factors, but where risks to human wellbeing may be considerably reduced through adaptive interventions.

In this study, we analyzed in situ data from the years 2018–2022 encompassing entire forest plantations in Poland. Based on data regarding stand density and the occurrence of fungal, water-related, climate-related, fire, and insect factors that may intensify with climate changes, we determined the correlation between their occurrence and the decline in wood increments for six tree species: pine, birch, oak, spruce, beech, and alder. Subsequently, we identified age intervals in which the species–factor interaction exhibited statistically significant effects. Next, we developed neural network models for short-term wood increment predictions. Utilizing these models, we estimated a reduction in wood supply harvested in accordance with the plans for the years 2023–2025 assuming a tenfold greater intensity of factors than in 2022. Findings indicate: birch: water-related factors may reduce wood production by 0.1%–0.2%. This aligns with previous research linking drought to birch wood decline, highlighting its sensitivity to water-related issues. Oak: fungal and insect factors could decrease wood production by up to 0.1%. Prior studies emphasize the significant influence of fungal diseases on oak health and regeneration, as well as the impact of insect infestation on wood production. Alder: water-related factors may lead to a slight reduction in wood production, approximately 0.02%. The impact is significant within specific age ranges, indicating potential effects on harvesting. Pine: water- and climate-related factors may result in up to a 0.05% reduction in wood production. Pine, a key forest-forming species in Poland, is notably sensitive to these factors, especially as it nears harvesting age. Spruce: insects, fungi, and climate-related factors could lead to a reduction in wood production of up to 0.2%–0.3%. Analyses demonstrate sensitivity, resulting in a noticeable growth differential compared to the typical rate. Short-term predictions based on neural networks were developed, acknowledging their suitability for short-term forecasts due to uncertainties regarding long-term factor impacts. Additionally, our study discussed modeling wood increments in divisions well below the harvesting time, emphasizing that the influence of current and 2023–2025 factors on wood increments and supply may only manifest several decades from now. These results imply important indications for the economic and financial performance of the wood industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Meeting climate change mitigation targets by 2050, as outlined in international pledges, involves determining optimal strategies for forest management, wood supply, the substitution of greenhouse gas‐intensive materials and energy sources, and wood product disposal. Our study quantified the cumulative mitigation potential by 2050 of the forest sector in the province of Quebec, Canada, using several alternative strategies and assessed under what circumstances the sector could contribute to the targets. We used the Carbon Budget Model of the Canadian Forest Sector to project ecosystems emissions and sequestration of seven alternative and one baseline (business‐as‐usual [BaU]) forest management scenarios over the 2018–2050 period. Three baskets of wood products were used in a Harvested Wood Products model to predict wood product emissions. The mitigation potential was determined by comparing the cumulative CO2e budget of each alternative scenario to the BaU. The proportion of methane emissions from landfills (RCH4%) and the required displacement factor (RDF) to achieve mitigation benefits were assessed both independently and jointly. The fastest and most efficient way to improve mitigation outcomes of the forest sector of Quebec is to reduce end‐of‐life methane emissions from wood products. By reducing methane emissions, the RDF for achieving mitigation benefits through intensification strategies can be reduced from 1.2–2.3 to 0–0.9 tC/tC, thus reaching the current provincial mean DF threshold (0.9). Both a reduction and an increase in the harvested volume have the potential to provide mitigation benefits with adequate RCH4% and RDF. Increased carbon sequestration in ecosystems, innovations in long‐lived wood products, and optimal substitution in markets offer potential avenues for the forest sector to contribute to mitigation benefits but are subject to significant uncertainties. Methane emission reduction at the end of wood product service life is emerging as a valuable approach to enhance mitigation benefits of the forest sector.

When comprehensive and accurate data on diversity and representation is available, it significantly enhances our understanding of business challenges, thereby bolstering policy decisions and strategy formulation across all organizational tiers. Using the U.S. forest sector as a case study, we illustrate that there are significant gaps in diversity and representation within the private forest sector, particularly in terms of gender and race. These disparities exist across various domains and categories, including different forest industries, job roles, and business ownership structures. Our analysis brings to light the inadequacies of the current workforce data, emphasizing their limitations in keeping pace with the changing socio-economic landscape. We examine these areas of oversight and emphasize the profound implications they have for guiding both research and practices aimed at cultivating a sustainable and inclusive workforce.

Greece's trade patterns in wood and wood products align with the broader trade dynamics in the Mediterranean region, where wood and wood products are primarily imported. Using Pettitt's test, this study revealed a consistent decline in the production of selected wood and wood product categories in Greece, coupled with a noteworthy increase in imports. Following the economic crisis of 2008, a temporary dip in import trends in some categories was observed. Furthermore, Pettitt's test helped identify the specific years when significant shifts occurred in the time series data. In the latter part of the analysis, the study underscored the significance of various factors within the wood removal production sector, including urbanization, economic growth, personal income, and the labor force. National imports of goods and wood fuel were also identified as playing pivotal roles at the national level. Recognizing the link between economic indicators and wood removals has the potential to inform decisions related to sustainable resource management, conservation initiatives, and strategies for economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The forest sector plays an important role in sustainable development for market and nonmarket goods and services. Investors and policy makers are increasingly seeking to rely on forests to provide both commercial forest products and nature-based solutions that will meet consumer demands and contribute to bioenergy, climate change amelioration, and biodiversity. To meet the expectations of climate and energy policies, forecasts estimate that more than US$70 billion of investments are needed annually by 2050. To achieve this level of investments, these increasing demands for investments in forests must be based on scientific research, reliable data, and credible business applications. In the era of information overload, access to peer-reviewed open-access journals has never been more critical than it is now. We summarize the role of our new Journal of Forest Business Research in providing improved applied research for practitioners seeking to achieve better outcomes relative to investment, finance, and economic goals for sustainable development.

Meeting climate change mitigation targets by 2050, as outlined in international pledges, involves determining optimal strategies for forest management, wood supply, the substitution of greenhouse gas‐intensive materials and energy sources, and wood product disposal. Our study quantified the cumulative mitigation potential by 2050 of the forest sector in the province of Quebec, Canada, using several alternative strategies and assessed under what circumstances the sector could contribute to the targets. We used the Carbon Budget Model of the Canadian Forest Sector to project ecosystems emissions and sequestration of seven alternative and one baseline (business‐as‐usual [BaU]) forest management scenarios over the 2018–2050 period. Three baskets of wood products were used in a Harvested Wood Products model to predict wood product emissions. The mitigation potential was determined by comparing the cumulative CO2e budget of each alternative scenario to the BaU. The proportion of methane emissions from landfills (RCH4%) and the required displacement factor (RDF) to achieve mitigation benefits were assessed both independently and jointly. The fastest and most efficient way to improve mitigation outcomes of the forest sector of Quebec is to reduce end‐of‐life methane emissions from wood products. By reducing methane emissions, the RDF for achieving mitigation benefits through intensification strategies can be reduced from 1.2–2.3 to 0–0.9 tC/tC, thus reaching the current provincial mean DF threshold (0.9). Both a reduction and an increase in the harvested volume have the potential to provide mitigation benefits with adequate RCH4% and RDF. Increased carbon sequestration in ecosystems, innovations in long‐lived wood products, and optimal substitution in markets offer potential avenues for the forest sector to contribute to mitigation benefits but are subject to significant uncertainties. Methane emission reduction at the end of wood product service life is emerging as a valuable approach to enhance mitigation benefits of the forest sector. We determined the Quebec forest sector's carbon mitigation potential using alternative strategies (forest ecosystems/product decay/substitution). We estimated the displacement factors that are required for wood products by 2050. We estimated the landfill CH4 emission reductions that must be achieved by 2050. Conservation alternatives increase carbon sinks by 2050, and intensification alternatives increase carbon sources by 2050. With improved methane management and optimal substitution, both conservation and intensification scenarios could provide mitigation benefits. Quebec's forests sector can contribute to enhanced climate mitigation benefits if sustainable forest management, optimum use of wood, and improved methane management of landfills are achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The forest sector plays an important role in sustainable development for market and nonmarket goods and services. Investors and policy makers are increasingly seeking to rely on forests to provide both commercial forest products and nature-based solutions that will meet consumer demands and contribute to bioenergy, climate change amelioration, and biodiversity. To meet the expectations of climate and energy policies, forecasts estimate that more than US$70 billion of investments are needed annually by 2050. To achieve this level of investments, these increasing demands for investments in forests must be based on scientific research, reliable data, and credible business applications. In the era of information overload, access to peer-reviewed open-access journals has never been more critical than it is now. We summarize the role of our new Journal of Forest Business Research in providing improved applied research for practitioners seeking to achieve better outcomes relative to investment, finance, and economic goals for sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Sustainable Development Goals, developed in 2015 by the United Nations, are a set of 17 internationally agreed-upon goals to be reached by 2030. The forest sector stands out as an important player in tackling climate change and strengthening sustainable initiatives. However, in addition to investigating the synergies and trade-offs between the forest sector and the SDGs, it is important to comprehend how this relationship has been measured. We conducted a systematic review to understand which methods have been used to understand the contributions of the forest sector to the SDGs. Following the PRISMA protocol, we screened 1064 articles from the Scopus and Web of Science databases, written in English and published between 2015 and November 2022. With the assistance of CADIMA 2.2.4 and Atlas.Ti 22, 83 articles were selected for further investigation. As a result, we categorized the studies into eight methods: content analysis, personal perceptions, interpretative analysis, frameworks, models, impact analysis, time series data, and SDG index. The approaches used include nature-based solutions, literature reviews, the Delphi method, case studies, the iSDG model, SDG 15 indicators, Earth observations, and remote sensing. In conclusion, although the SDGs are widely referenced, studies that measure and explore the relationship between the forest sector and SDGs in a more holistic way are still lacking. This systematic review aimed to offer an overview of the methods being used to address this topic and stimulate future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The contribution of the forest sector to climate change mitigation needs to rely on optimal strategies that include forest management, wood supply, wood product disposal, and replacement of GHG-intensive materials and energy sources. Our study aimed to assess the impact of alternative forest management practices applied at the stand scale on the capacity of the forest sector to reduce its radiative forcing, using the boreal forests of eastern Canada as a case study. We simulated management of a balsam fir–white birch stand over a sixty-year period and determined the sectorial carbon and radiative forcing budget for a reference scenario (no harvest) and for nineteen clearcut and partial cut alternatives. The results suggest that logging may not significantly reduce carbon emissions compared to a preservation practice and does not yield any climate benefits in terms of radiative forcing. In a context for which the substitution effect of wood products on markets is expected to be limited, the mitigation potential of a scenario is mostly driven by the capacity of the forest ecosystem carbon sink to compensate for the substantial CO 2 and CH 4 emissions from wood product decay in landfills. The improved assessment of carbon emission temporality, incorporation of ecosystem carbon dynamics, and improved consideration of substitution and the decay of wood products are essential in the development of any forest management strategy. Neglecting these elements can lead to misconceptions and prevent informed mitigation decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recycling is emerging as both a viable alternative to extraction in many industries and a cornerstone of the circular economy. In this paper, we assess the role of paper and cardboard recycling on the forest sector, from both an economic and carbon perspective. For this purpose, we add the recycling industry to an existing forest-sector model in an attempt to capture its effects on other wood products and the overall forest resource. As the forest sector has an important potential for climate change mitigation, this model allows us to assess the effects of increased paper and cardboard recycling on the availability of the natural resource and the carbon balance of the forest sector. We show that these results are strongly linked to the hypotheses of substitutability and/or complementarity of recycled pulp and virgin pulpwood. Although we find increased emissions at the pulp sector level, the effects on emissions in other wood products are small. When pulp products are considered substitutes, we find the impact on total net sequestration to be positive. In the case where pulp products are considered complements, we find the impact on total net sequestration to be negative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural and Forest Research and Environmental Management entail significant decisions that can impact research findings. Better findings come from well-managed research. In the research and management, a practical methodology approach is used to improve decision-making and prioritise numerous possibilities and research programmes. However, most research scientists need help setting the priority for the research project. A web-based decision-making system, i.e., the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) methodology, provides support and solutions in prioritising the research project options based on multi-criteria decisions in order to eliminate these barriers in agricultural research and management. Considering these factors, the National Academy of Agricultural Research Management (NAARM), Hyderabad, Telangana, India, devised and developed “AHP Analyser”, a web-based group decision-making tool for prioritising the climate change mitigation options of research projects using an analytic hierarchy approach. It was created with PHP, JavaScript, and MySQL and is available at https://naarm.org.in/ahp/. In the present research article, we have briefly discussed the AHP methodology, analytics of publication on AHP usage, primary features of the AHP Analyser, which was built by using AHP methodology, and a case study that shows how the AHP Analyser was used to mitigate climate change in the forestry sector. Study concluded that AHP methodology can be widely applicable in various sectors for decision making, portfolio management and prioritisation; also contributes to the sustainable development goals (SDGs). Therefore, creating awareness on the advantages of AHP methodology among the researchers is critical to bring quality outputs in the research field.

Forests are under immense stress globally. Economic growth is one reason for this: its impacts can lead to deforestation and put tremendous harvesting pressure on forests. In light of increasingly popular -- and growth-based -- bioeconomy strategies, the need for more wood is likely to accelerate. Degrowth, in contrast, rejects economic growth as the central economic principle, arguing that the material throughput of countries in the Global North must shrink to achieve global sustainability. Although the concept has gained importance, there have been no attempts to link degrowth with the forest sector. This article argues that degrowth principles are beneficial for basing the forest sector on sustainable grounds, while the degrowth movement also needs to define its relationship to the forest. Against this backdrop, this contribution sets the cornerstone by linking the Swiss forest sector to central degrowth principles, and discussing possible interrelations and mismatches. Finally, a future research agenda for degrowth and the forest sector is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change, the increasing global demand for food and feed and the loss of biodiversity, requires a shift towards a sustainable, innovative and knowledge-based bioeconomy. Simultaneously, the implementation of a strategic approach to the utilization of the sector and associated bioresources that aligns with the principles of sustainability represents a significant challenge. The aim of this study is therefore to develop a methodology for policy and decision makers to facilitate a knowledge-based bioeconomy policy planning framework. To map the development opportunities of the bioeconomy, a detailed analysis was conducted on the Latvian forest sector. This entailed an examination of the system's components within the sector, which involved the collection and analysis of statistical data, reports, and official information from forest sector stakeholders, with the objective of obtaining a comprehensive overview of Latvia's forest sector. Following the identification of the current enablers and constraints of the sector, a selection of niche products with high value-added for sector development was made. During group model building experts: (1) developed a SWOT matrix for the Latvian forest sector; (2) selected three wood-based high value-added products – textile from trees; particle board; natural thermal packaging; (3) elaborated SWOT/TOWS analysis to facilitate strategy development for the niche products. The developed methodology incorporates a synthesis of established scientific methods, including SWOT, TOWS, and AHP, with a bioeconomy system component analysis approach. The methodology therefore not only systematises the process of forest sector analysis, but also applies the findings to the development of sector development pathways aimed at shifting from low value-added to high value-added production. The innovation of the methodology lies not only in the combination of methods used, but also in the insights gained, which allow for a narrower product development perspective to be taken in order to understand the enablers and constraints of the sector and vice versa. • Analysis of the Latvian forest sector for transition to a knowledge-based bioeconomy. • Identifying niche products with higher added value to promote the forest sector. • SWOT/TOWS analysis of niche wood-based products and foresight of future scenarios. • Methodology for policy and decision makers to analyse and develop strategic pathways for bioeconomy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the influence of climate change, wildfire regimes are expected to intensify and expand to new areas, increasing threats to natural and socioeconomic assets. We explore the environmental and economic implications for the forest sector of climate‐induced changes in wildfire regimes. To retain genericity while considering local determinants, we focus on the regional level and take Mediterranean France as an example. Coupling a bioeconomic forest sector model and a model of wildfire activity, we perform spatially explicit simulations under various levels of radiative forcing. By using a probabilistic framework, we also assess the propagation of several sources of uncertainty to the forest sector, considering both climate‐induced uncertainty and the intrinsic stochasticity of the fire process. By the end of the century, summer burned areas increase by up to 55%, causing moderate losses of merchantable timber and forest carbon stocks, with cascading impacts for industrial activities and climate mitigation in the forest sector. Implications for industries remain limited, but we observe price increases, especially for softwoods, as well as spatially differentiated changes in producer welfare. Inter‐annual fluctuations explain most of uncertainty in wildfire activity, but their impacts on the forest sector are quickly dampened. Over time, owing to the cumulative nature of wildfire impacts on forest resources, uncertainty related to climate warming, climate models' response and stochasticity intrinsic to the wildfire phenomenon strongly increase in relative importance. Results reassert the need to consider multiple futures in prospective assessments, including uncertainty inherent to natural processes, often omitted in large‐scale economic assessments. Plain Language Summary: Forest fires in the Mediterranean are expected to become more numerous, more intense, and to reach new areas due to climate change. Forest resources, carbon sequestrated in forests, as well as economic activities related to forestry, are threatened by this evolution. This article focuses on Southern France and uses large‐scale model simulations to explore these dynamics. We show that burned areas in forests may increase by more than half by 2100, leading to a decrease in forest resources (timber) by up to 5%. Besides, prices for wood products may increase, especially for softwoods, with implications for the welfare of timber producers and consumers. Moreover, these results are heterogenous across space, and areas to the south and to the west are more gravely affected. However, these trends come with relatively large uncertainties. We show that uncertainties concerning the evolution of forest fires themselves are largely due to annual variability in weather conditions. On the contrary, uncertainties concerning economic activity in forestry are mostly due to the unknown future evolution of greenhouse gas emissions and to differences in climate models functioning. Our results reassert the need to consider several possible sources of uncertainty in long‐term prospective assessments. Key Points: Models project an intensification of wildfire regimes in southern France, losses of forest resources and carbon, disturbances to forestryUncertainty in projections is dominated by annual fluctuations for wildfire activity, by choice of climate model/scenario for forestryProspective bioeconomic assessments need to consider multiple possible futures but also stochasticity intrinsic to disturbance processes [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background The potential contributions from forest-based greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation actions need to be quantified to develop pathways towards net negative emissions. Here we present results from a comparative analysis that examined mitigation options for British Columbia’s forest sector. Mitigation scenarios were evaluated using a systems perspective that takes into account the changes in emissions and removals in forest ecosystems, in harvested wood product (HWP) carbon stocks, and in other sectors where wood products substitute for emission-intensive materials and fossil fuels. All mitigation activities were assessed relative to a forward-looking ‘business as usual’ baseline for three implementation levels. In addition to quantifying net GHG emission reductions, we assessed economic, and socio-economic impacts as well as other environmental indicators relating to forest species, age class, deadwood availability and future timber supply. We further considered risks of reversal for land-based scenarios, by assessing impacts of increasing future wildfires on stands that were not harvested. Results Our spatially explicit analyses of forest sector mitigation options demonstrated a cost-effective portfolio of regionally differentiated scenarios that directed more of the harvested wood to longer-lived wood products, stopped burning of harvest residues and instead produced bioenergy to displace fossil fuel burning, and reduced harvest levels in regions with low disturbance rates. Domestically, net GHG emissions were reduced by an average of -9 MtCO2e year−1 over 2020–2050 for a portfolio of mitigation activities at a default implementation level, with about 85% of the GHG emission reductions achieved below a cost of $50/tCO2e. Normalizing the net GHG reduction by changes in harvested wood levels permitted comparisons of the scenarios with different ambition levels, and showed that a 1 MtCO2 increase in cumulative harvested stemwood results in a 1 MtCO2e reduction in cumulative emissions, relative to the baseline, for the Higher Recovery scenario in 2070. Conclusions The analyses conducted in this study contribute to the global understanding of forest sector mitigation options by providing an integrated framework to synthesize the methods, assumptions, datasets and models needed to quantify mitigation activities using a systems approach. An understanding of economically feasible and socio-economically attractive mitigation scenarios along with trade offs for environmental indicators relating to species composition and age, helps decision makers with long-term planning for land sector contributions to GHG emission reduction efforts, and provides valuable information for stakeholder consultations.

Abstract Under the influence of climate change, wildfire regimes are expected to intensify and expand to new areas, increasing threats to natural and socioeconomic assets. We explore the environmental and economic implications for the forest sector of climate‐induced changes in wildfire regimes. To retain genericity while considering local determinants, we focus on the regional level and take Mediterranean France as an example. Coupling a bioeconomic forest sector model and a model of wildfire activity, we perform spatially explicit simulations under various levels of radiative forcing. By using a probabilistic framework, we also assess the propagation of several sources of uncertainty to the forest sector, considering both climate‐induced uncertainty and the intrinsic stochasticity of the fire process. By the end of the century, summer burned areas increase by up to 55%, causing moderate losses of merchantable timber and forest carbon stocks, with cascading impacts for industrial activities and climate mitigation in the forest sector. Implications for industries remain limited, but we observe price increases, especially for softwoods, as well as spatially differentiated changes in producer welfare. Inter‐annual fluctuations explain most of uncertainty in wildfire activity, but their impacts on the forest sector are quickly dampened. Over time, owing to the cumulative nature of wildfire impacts on forest resources, uncertainty related to climate warming, climate models’ response and stochasticity intrinsic to the wildfire phenomenon strongly increase in relative importance. Results reassert the need to consider multiple futures in prospective assessments, including uncertainty inherent to natural processes, often omitted in large‐scale economic assessments.

Informal employment has been observed for decades and inevitably accompanies the formal economy globally, and it does not disappear to date along with economic growth. Particularly in developing countries, informal employment has increased beyond expectation. This scoping literature review, therefore, aims to identify and analyze the magnitude, causes, characteristics and socioeconomic effects of informal employment in the forest sector on a global scale. The literature analysis reveals that informal employment is predominant in the forest sector. Poverty, lack of education and migration are the causes of informal employment both in general and in the forest sector. Informal employment in the forest sector has various decent work deficits. At the same time, informal employment in the forest sector has induced and enlarged socioeconomic effects of working poverty and occupational accidents and illnesses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forest ecosystems provide numerous services that contribute to the wellbeing of societies. However, the lack of knowledge about the benefits of non-wood forest ecosystem services, such as non-wood forest products (NWFPs), hinders efficient forest policy decision-making processes. This study proposes a new extension of the Social Accounting Matrices (SAMs) to capture both the private and the social component of NWFPs. By means of a literature review, we show how extended SAMs can be a suitable approach to explain the causal relationship between the supply of forest ecosystem services, forest-based value chains, and the European bioeconomy. The literature analysis shows that the number of research studies calibrating or using SAMs has been increasing over the last decades. Recent extensions of the SAMs made it possible to evaluate the relationship between human wellbeing and the environment. Moreover, we found applications to the forest sector (limited to timber) and to the supply of some non-wood ecosystem services. We believe the extended SAMs will support decision-makers to design forest strategies that properly account for the benefits NWFPs provide to both the economy and the society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Forest based climate mitigation emerged as a key component of the Paris Agreement, and thus requires robust science to reduce uncertainties related to such strategies. The aim of this study was to assess and compare the cumulative effects on carbon dynamics of forest management and climate change on boreal and northern temperate forest sector in eastern Canada for the 2020–2100 period. Methods We used the spatially explicit forest landscape model LANDIS-II and its extension Forest Carbon Succession, in conjunction with the Carbon Budget Model for Harvested Wood Products framework. We simulated the dynamics of forest composition and carbon flows from forest ecosystems to wood products and their substitution effect on markets under increasing climate forcing, according to a tonne-year approach. Simulations were conducted for a series of forest management scenarios based on realistic practices principally by clearcut in the boreal territory and continuous-cover forestry in the northern temperate one. These scenarios included: i) a business-as-usual scenario (BaU), representing the current management strategy, ii) increased harvesting by 6.3% to 13.9%, iii) increased conservation (i.e. reduced harvesting by 11.1% to 49.8%), iiii) and a scenario representing the natural evolution of the forest landscape (i.e. without any management activity). Results Our study revealed that increasing harvesting levels had contrasting effects on the mitigation potential in northern temperate (enhance net sequestration) and boreal forest sector (enhance net emissions) in comparison to the BaU from 2040 onwards, regardless of the future climate. Carbon storage in wood products and the substitution effect were not sufficient to offset carbon emissions from ecosystems. Moreover, climate change had a strong impact on the capacity of both landscapes to act as carbon sinks. Northern temperate landscapes became a net source of carbon over time due to their greater vulnerability to climate change than boreal landscapes. Conclusions Our study highlights the need to consider the initial landscape characteristics in simulations to maximize the mitigation potential of alternative forest management strategies. The optimal management solution can be very different according to the characteristics of forest ecosystems. This opens the possibility of optimizing management for specific forest stands, with the objective of maximizing the mitigation potential of a given landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main aim of this article is to deepen the theoretical provisions of the functioning and development of forestry in Ukraine, allocating the features of economic activity in this sphere. The article puts special emphasis on the definition of the essence of the category of «forestry». To do this, the contents of such definitions as: «forest sector», «forestry», «forest complex», «forest industry», «forest-industry complex» and «forest-based industry sector» were analyzed. A detailed study of these categories, in addition to a closer definition of their essence, has also allowed us to determine their relationship. The result of the study provides the following interpretation of the essence of the category of «forestry» - this is a material production industry that studies, records, reproduces and protects forests, as well as regulates their use to meet the needs of economic actors in the forest-based and other related resources. Thus, in our opinion, forestry should be considered as a separate industry, as a part of the forest sector of the country. The article also defines the functioning and development of forestry as a separate, holistic economic system.

Wood as form of biomass is one of the main types of alternative energy in Ukraine. At the same time, wood biomass is one of the cheapest energy resources. It has been proved that its volume potential can be sufficient to meet the energy needs of the population. It is found that a significant amount of wood biomass in Ukraine, which can be used for energy purposes, is not yet used, particularly wood residuals in forest stands. The use of wood and wood residuals as fuel is an environmentally and cost-effective solution. However to meet sustainability goals some social and environmental limitations should be taken into account. The urgency of implementing a bioenergy policy for governing the process of wood residuals and biomass use for energy purpose is obvious, since there are no clear legislative norms and regulations to stimulate the bioenergy sector development in Ukraine, except for the “Energy Strategy of Ukraine until 2035”. Fuel wood is one of the main types of bioenergy in Ukraine. It is found that sustainable utilization of wood residuals potential would contribute to the circular economy and at the same time can make a significant contribution to solving energy dependency from suppliers outside Ukraine. The process of obtaining wood energy and using wood biomass for energy purposes is not governed by clear and transparent bioenergy policy and set of instruments in Ukraine. Ukraine's energy strategy for the period until 2035 envisages the transition to renewable energy sources, considers wood biomass as one of the options for obtaining fuel energy, but does not describe actions and regulation measures in bioenergy. The legislation is also seen as imperfect as it does not actually treat this wood biomass as an alternative (renewable) energy. Creating a legislative framework based on the use of foreign experience and the assessment of the potential of wood biomass in Ukraine, which can be used for energy purposes, is the main task of Ukraine's bioenergy policy. Bioenergy policies should be aimed to achieving the sustainable development goals through the use of appropriate strategies and instruments and systematically assessed through a system of indicators. The main problem with the use of fuel wood is the lack of a legal framework governing its production and use. In this regard, it is appropriate to draw on the experience of other countries in the use of wood biomass for energy purposes. It is found that the main source of fuel wood is sawmill and furniture waste. It has been proven that biomass in Ukraine is sufficient to replace all gas and coal imports. The term "bioenergy" has been found not to refer to deforestation. It is about the use of wood waste and illiquid residues. In Sweden, 60% of heat is produced from biomass, however, in Ukraine only 9%. Taking into account the social and environmental constraints in determining the amount of biomass that can be removed from the forest, providing an ecological and economic justification for the entire process of harvesting, sorting and processing of biomass is an important component of achieving the concept of sustainable development of the forest sector. The main problem with the use of fuel wood is the lack of a legal framework governing its production and use. In this regard, it is appropriate to take into account the experience of other countries in the use of wood biomass for energy purposes. Therefore the most important task is to develop regional strategies and a set of bioenergy policy instruments.

Abstract Background We determine the potential of forests and the forest sector to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by changes in management practices and wood use for two regions within Canada’s managed forest from 2018 to 2050. Our modeling frameworks include the Carbon Budget Model of the Canadian Forest Sector, a framework for harvested wood products that estimates emissions based on product half-life decay times, and an account of marginal emission substitution benefits from the changes in use of wood products and bioenergy. Using a spatially explicit forest inventory with 16 ha pixels, we examine mitigation scenarios relating to forest management and wood use: increased harvesting efficiency; residue management for bioenergy; reduced harvest; reduced slashburning, and more longer-lived wood products. The primary reason for the spatially explicit approach at this coarse resolution was to estimate transportation distances associated with delivering harvest residues for heat and/or electricity production for local communities. Results Results demonstrated large differences among alternative scenarios, and from alternative assumptions about substitution benefits for fossil fuel-based energy and products which changed scenario rankings. Combining forest management activities with a wood-use scenario that generated more longer-lived products had the highest mitigation potential. Conclusions The use of harvest residues to meet local energy demands in place of burning fossil fuels was found to be an effective scenario to reduce GHG emissions, along with scenarios that increased the utilization level for harvest, and increased the longevity of wood products. Substitution benefits from avoiding fossil fuels or emissions-intensive products were dependent on local circumstances for energy demand and fuel mix, and the assumed wood use for products. As projected future demand for biomass use in national GHG mitigation strategies could exceed sustainable biomass supply, analyses such as this can help identify biomass sources that achieve the greatest mitigation benefits.

The estimation of the development of the main trends of the global timber marketisgiven,there are characterized relative labor productivity indices in the forestry sector of the world economy in various regions of the world over 20 year. There is carried an analysis of the key implications of the spread of the modern model of consumption in the Asia-Pacific region for the wood and furniture industry.

In evaluating effectiveness for collaborative environmental governance arrangements, a key concern is describing not just the processes and actors that are a part of these systems, but also the impacts that these processes have on ecological and social conditions. Existing research delineates an emphasis on process variables over outcome variables, as well as the difficulties of demonstrating causal relationships between collaborative governance processes and ecological outcomes. In this paper, we examined how process and outcome criteria are used by sponsors, industry practitioners, and participants of collaborative environmental governance (CEG) arrangements in Canada's forest sector to ascertain effectiveness. We explicitly sought evidence from sponsors and industry practitioners of self-described effective forest advisory committees, anticipating that sponsors or practitioners might place greater emphasis than participants on outcome criteria over process criteria. We analyzed data from a nation-wide survey of forest advisory committee participants, conducted interviews with sponsoring agencies, and completed two in-depth case studies. We found that sponsors and industry practitioners, like participants, perceived a strong relationship between process and effectiveness. The perspectives of all participants helped us articulate ten key process criteria that they determined as essential for CEG. By including the insights of sponsoring agencies, our study provides both on-the-ground and management interpretations of process and outcomes as well as a nuanced approach to understanding the relationship between the two. However, we conclude that systematic evaluation approaches involving outcome-based criteria are still necessary and would provide a clear step towards encouraging accountability in CEG decision-making, both for sponsors and members. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How perceptions of the forest-based bioeconomy differ across country contexts and social groups is important as it opens possibilities for the development of more inclusive, locally and socially relevant bioeconomy policies and strategies. Therefore, this special section explores the social dimensions of the forest-based bioeconomy by focusing on discourses and perceptions of different actor groups in Europe. We introduce six articles that range from review and discursive approaches to consumer studies. The section adds to the existing literature by focusing not only on political decision makers, stakeholders, and experts but also on the public, media and students. Patterns in the presented discourses and perceptions can be identified but more is needed to validate these and respond to the question of representativeness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The potential contributions from forest-based greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation actions need to be quantified to develop pathways towards net negative emissions. Here we present results from a comparative analysis that examined mitigation options for British Columbia's forest sector. Mitigation scenarios were evaluated using a systems perspective that takes into account the changes in emissions and removals in forest ecosystems, in harvested wood product (HWP) carbon stocks, and in other sectors where wood products substitute for emission-intensive materials and fossil fuels. All mitigation activities were assessed relative to a forward-looking 'business as usual' baseline for three implementation levels. In addition to quantifying net GHG emission reductions, we assessed economic, and socio-economic impacts as well as other environmental indicators relating to forest species, age class, deadwood availability and future timber supply. We further considered risks of reversal for land-based scenarios, by assessing impacts of increasing future wildfires on stands that were not harvested. Results: Our spatially explicit analyses of forest sector mitigation options demonstrated a cost-effective portfolio of regionally differentiated scenarios that directed more of the harvested wood to longer-lived wood products, stopped burning of harvest residues and instead produced bioenergy to displace fossil fuel burning, and reduced harvest levels in regions with low disturbance rates. Domestically, net GHG emissions were reduced by an average of -9 MtCO2e year−1 over 2020–2050 for a portfolio of mitigation activities at a default implementation level, with about 85% of the GHG emission reductions achieved below a cost of $50/tCO2e. Normalizing the net GHG reduction by changes in harvested wood levels permitted comparisons of the scenarios with different ambition levels, and showed that a 1 MtCO2 increase in cumulative harvested stemwood results in a 1 MtCO2e reduction in cumulative emissions, relative to the baseline, for the Higher Recovery scenario in 2070. Conclusions: The analyses conducted in this study contribute to the global understanding of forest sector mitigation options by providing an integrated framework to synthesize the methods, assumptions, datasets and models needed to quantify mitigation activities using a systems approach. An understanding of economically feasible and socio-economically attractive mitigation scenarios along with trade offs for environmental indicators relating to species composition and age, helps decision makers with long-term planning for land sector contributions to GHG emission reduction efforts, and provides valuable information for stakeholder consultations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Government of Canada has embraced circular economy and is supporting an increasing number of initiatives in the field. However, implementation examples remain scattered and certain stakeholders are eager to see a greater level of commitment from policy makers. The purpose of this study is to provide a Canadian perspective on how, and to what extent, forest products are compatible with circular economy strategies. This topic was investigated through interviews with 16 Canadian experts in eco-design, circular economy, forest products and/or waste management, with a focus on construction and packaging. Efforts made by forest industries at the manufacturing stage to reduce resource consumption were acknowledged, but the implementation of other circular economy strategies, such as reuse, recycling and energy recovery, is uneven. While there is low-hanging fruit for incremental improvements, such as the processing of recovered lumber in wood panels and not mixing cardboard fibres with other paper streams to avoid downcycling, several barriers to the widespread adoption of the most promising strategies were identified. The experts consulted proposed several solutions to accelerate the deployment of circular economy strategies for forest products, for which government interventions would need to be tailored to the different policy readiness levels (PRLs) observed in the construction and packaging sectors. With circularity having economy-wide implications, setting a clear policy direction at the national level, with a circular economy roadmap for Canada for example, could accelerate coordinated implementation within and across sectors, including forest industries.

he need for formation of the State investment and innovation policy for development of forest sector has been substantiated as an important prerequisite for overcoming investment deficits in both the public and the corporate sectors of forest and wood processing production. The main tendencies in the implementation of capital investments by the entities of forestry entrepreneurship, dynamics of involvement of credit resources by forestry enterprises, and shifts in the structure of capital investments in 2016 were analyzed as compared to 2013. It has been found that an important part of the State investment and innovation policy for development of forest sector should be incentives to accelerate the modernization and upgrading of the material-technical base of lumbering and wood processing. The need to form an institutional framework for partnership between the State and business entities in the part of financing the projects of modernization of lumbering and wood processing equipment has been substantiated.

This article explores how the quality of institutions influences the strategic choice of agents in the pulp and paper production system based on the forest plantation sector. In order to proceed with the study, we employ the Economic Analysis of Property Rights (Barzel, 1982, 1989, 2002) as foundation, and test the proposition: in federative states where the institutional environment is fragile and therefore the State has a high cost to enforce property rights, private mechanisms stand out in the protection of property rights. According to Dixit (2009, p. 8), "if the government does not pro tect property rights, at least not as well as owners require, many private arrangements arise to satisfy the owners' needs". The analysis of three business cases of companies with plantations in more than one federative unit revealed the broad range of private mechanisms in place to cope with insecure land rights. In addition to countrywide strategies, in the federative units where government fails to be a good property rights steward, we found geographically specific initiatives being used. Another finding was the identification of variables that are able to evaluate the quality of institutions and employed in the companies' decision-making process for the selection of land rights protection strategies. Findings altogether are empirical evidence of how the quality of institutions influences the strategic choice of land rights protection in the forest plantation sector in Brazil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon stored in harvested wood products (HWPs) can affect national greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories, in which the production and end use of HWPs play a key role. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) provides guidance on HWP carbon accounting, which is sensitive to future developments of socioeconomic factors including population, income, and trade. We estimated the carbon stored within HWPs from 1961 to 2065 for 180 countries following IPCC carbon-accounting guidelines, consistent with Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAOSTAT) historical data and plausible futures outlined by the shared socioeconomic pathways. We found that the global HWP pool was a net annual sink of 335 Mt of CO2 equivalent (CO2e)⋅y-1 in 2015, offsetting substantial amounts of industrial processes within some countries, and as much as 441 Mt of CO2e⋅y-1 by 2030 under certain socioeconomic developments. Furthermore, there is a considerable sequestration gap (71 Mt of CO2e⋅y-1 of unaccounted carbon storage in 2015 and 120 Mt of CO2e⋅y-1 by 2065) under current IPCC Good Practice Guidance, as traded feedstock is ineligible for national GHG inventories. However, even under favorable socioeconomic conditions, and when accounting for the sequestration gap, carbon stored annually in HWPs is <1% of global emissions. Furthermore, economic shocks can turn the HWP pool into a carbon source either long-term--e.g., the collapse of the USSR--or short-term--e.g., the US economic recession of 2008/09. In conclusion, carbon stored within end-use HWPs varies widely across countries and depends on evolving market forces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Special attention should be given to forest plantings in order to minimize the probability of exotic pest introduction and, consequently, of production losses. The objective of this review was to present, under a historic perspective, the main exotic insects that harm the Brazilian forest sector. Therefore, to better describe the phytosanitary context of introduced forest pests in Brazil, the main information regarding these insects was gathered here. Introduced species and species with a risk of introduction were listed. The following species were registered: 12 exotic introduced species related to eucalyptus, non-quarantine; 9 species related to pine, one quarantine; and 1 species related to teak, quarantine. Overall, the core problems for 57 pest species were addressed, followed by projections on current risks and priorities. Biological control programs and their respective agents were also mentioned. For eucalyptus plantations, the species belonging to the genera Ophelimus and Leptocybe are priorities and should be emphasized. Regarding pine species, the main current concerns are Bursaphelenchus xylophilus (transmitted by species of Monochamus), Rhyacionia frustrana, and Dendroctonus frontalis. Better risk management requires reinforcement of phytosanitary inspections and constant refinement of contingency plans, whose actions include monitoring by visual sampling, employment of sentinel plants, and preventive breeding programs aiming at pest resistance.

The forest sector is a high-risk economic sector in Latvia, one in which manual work, awkward postures, the tightening up of individual muscle groups, and work monotony still exists. The aim of this study was to analyse the physical workload and fault modes, and their effects on the sawing and packing processes in woodworking when considering potential ergonomic solutions. Results show that packing operators and saw operators alike are exposed to severe loads, and these results coincide with survey results in which employees in these professions complain about the physical load and mention lower back pain. Fault modes and their effects on the sawing and packing processes were analysed using Failure Mode and Effects Analysis, and the main errors which were revealed in packing operations were related to machinery and lifting equipment, as well as to ergonomics and errors involving the human factor. The risk priority was calculated in terms of a figure. Financial indices were compared before and after any potential improvement in the sawing and packing processes. Analysis proves that investments in the improvement of ergonomics in relation to the automation of the production process saves human resources and is economically favourable when it comes to ensuring the sustainable development of the business in question. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The circular economy is among the key contemporary policy goals both in Europe and in Finland. Therefore, sustainability and life cycle thinking are increasingly the center of attention. In addition, wood and bioproduct companies have faced many challenges in Finland and the closure or restructuring of many large-scale industrial sites have caused many regional changes for both society and the private sector. The EU's targets to promote the circular economy and become a recycling society bring about many changes and provide new opportunities. This study addresses two different components of circular economy development in the forest sector through case studies. The first case study was a regional study on sustainability driven competitive advantage within forest sector companies and the method applied was a questionnaire survey targeted at both large and small forest sector companies in the Kymenlaakso region. The second case study was about the potential for cascading recovered solid wood in wood products and wood working companies and the method employed was interviewing company and association representatives. The findings of the first case study indicate that material and energy efficiency are important in the context of circular economy and bioeconomy development. They also indicate the importance of EU and national level public steering and sustainability considerations and that there is a need for more focus on life cycle thinking in the future. The findings of the second case study indicate that without inducements, legislative obligations or demand from the construction sector or other customers, the potential for the wide-scale cascading of solid wood in Finland is very limited. The most promising cascading opportunities are the reuse and preparing for reuse of wooden packages and furniture. In addition, the results suggest that life-cycle-assessment for different end-of-life scenarios for solid wood products could give more reliable information about different options from an environmental point of view. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid decarbonisation of the transport sector calls for increased use of biofuels. Part of the increase may be covered by fuels produced from logging residues, wood chips and round wood. This article addresses the economic potential and possible impacts of increased production of such wood based biofuels on the forest industries and production of wood based heat and power in the European Economic Area. A global model for the markets and trade of forest biomass and products, the EFI-GTM was applied for the analysis. The results indicate, firstly, that policy choices will have strong impacts on the allocation of biomass use between heat and power production and the production of liquid biofuels. Hence, the policy makers must have very clear goal setting for the preferred ways to solve the shift from the fossil fuel based energy system to a less carbon intensive one. Nevertheless, because large investments in biofuel production take time to plan and construct, and because the annual forest growth exceeds the harvests of wood in various parts of Europe, there is time to adjust the policies to control the market development. Secondly, even assuming the goal of limiting the global warming to 2 °C, the European forest industry production is projected to be rather little affected by the increased competition for biomass with the energy sector. This is because the rivalling regions are facing similar biomass demand challenges. Also, the relatively abundant wood biomass resources in Europe help the European forest industry to maintain its market shares. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Article is about economic analysis of promising wood products in Latvian forest sector. Three products: bio-oil, lyocell and xylan were analyzed. Currently none of the products are manufactured in Latvia. System dynamics modelling was used to determine which of the products have higher added value and which of them is more feasible. Input data for the model was taken from scientific literature and from already existing factories. It was assumed that the chosen products were manufactured as separate products, while treating the leftovers as energy source or waste. It was done to see how feasible the products are on their own. Results show that for both bio-oil and lyocell there is a positive profit value with a possibility to increase it even more in the future, while decreasing the share formed by capital costs. In case of xylan, the profit is negative, which makes xylan unprofitable. Although xylan is not feasible as a separate product, its value can be increased by manufacturing it together with other co-products, which can be obtained and manufactured from wood leftovers, therefore decreasing the specific capital costs per product and using wood in efficient manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ambition to develop a bioeconomy depends largely on the forest-based sector. For creating higher-value chains, technological innovations are sought in the field of lignocellulosic biorefining. Although biorefinery concepts have been under development for decades now in Germany, many relevant technological developments are still confined to the laboratory and pilot scale. By taking on a technological innovation systems (TIS) approach, this article provides an empirical analysis of the development of lignocellulosic biorefineries in Germany, as well as prospects and implications for the forest and wood sector. Specific attention is accorded to actors’ perceptions, in particular regarding the direction of innovation. To this end, we discuss the conditions under which actors from different sectors (forest and wood industry, chemical industry and energy sector) interact and play different roles in the emerging field. The analysis highlights a number of internal and external system weaknesses (e.g., fragmented policies, underdeveloped market formation, technological immaturity, incomplete actor networks etc.). However, we argue that the innovation system presents a series of strengths as well. Besides the clear need for policy integration and coordination, the analysis highlights some specific policy options that could support the development of lignocellulosic biorefineries in Germany. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The approaches and methods of social responsibility implementation for developing environmental marketing strategies are examined, environmental marketing objectives for adopting social responsibility in forest sector are determined, principles of socially responsible environmental marketing are formulated.

The forestry sector in Italy is significantly moving. Perhaps the speed is not the expected and the needed one, especially as regards the public services. On the other hand, although timeliness is an important factor, to establish and maintain political and programmatic targets coordinated on a national level are even more relevant. This editorial offers some evidences and thoughts on the subject.