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The increasing worldwide interest in renewable energy and carbon storage has led to the development of relatively fast solutions to obtain wood biomass. The cultivation of fast-growing tree species in short-rotation crops, such as hybrid poplar clones, is one such solution, at least in temperate areas. Sometimes these monocultures are affected by disturbing factors, including severe insect defoliation, with strong destructive effects. The impact of defoliation on the growth and productivity of poplar crops is often estimated in the context of artificial defoliation. There have been few studies in which the effect of defoliation was calculated after natural defoliation. Among defoliating insect species, Clostera anastomosis L. is one of the most important defoliators of young poplars. This species developed severe defoliation in a 4-year-old poplar clone AF8 crop, from the northeastern part of Romania, in the spring and summer of 2017. The study aimed to assess the impact of defoliation both on the growth and mortality of defoliated trees and the productivity of the affected crop. To reach this goal, the height and radial growth of 150 trees with different defoliation rates (50 non-defoliated, 50 partially defoliated, and 50 completely defoliated) were measured and the defoliation symptoms and mortality were also evaluated for 4780 poplars (10% of the analyzed population). The defoliation caused a significant decrease in the annual height growth (28.6% of the partially defoliated trees and 38.5% of the completely defoliated trees) and a severe decrease in the radial growth, between 82.2% and 90.4%, respectively, depending on the defoliation rate. These strong decreases led to a significant decline in tree-level biomass accumulation, approximately 74.8% for partially defoliated trees and 83.1% for completely defoliated trees, for the year of defoliation. As a result, the loss in total biomass (for the four years of the rotation) was between 28.1% and 34.6%, respectively, depending on the defoliation rate. Therefore, the total biomass loss was 5 t·ha−1, representing approximately 70% of the forecasted production for 2017 only (approximately 7 t·ha−1).

Romania’s forest policy is based on a long tradition in establishing and implementing the principles of sustainable management of forestry resources, based on a sound scientific and technical foundation. This resulted in a rigorous forestry regime, designed to operate efficiently under the conditions of state ownership over all forests. Over the past 30 years, Romania has gone through a period of transition towards a market economy with major institutional changes that took place in the forest sector through the restitution of forests and the privatisation of the administration, logging and forest industry sector. In this context, the regulatory system did not have the expected efficiency, which is reflectedin a clear social tension, involving all stakeholders interested in and affected by the management of forests: private owners, public and private forest administration, loggingand wood processing companies, environmental protection organisations, civil society, etc. The paper presents the process of elaborating a vision for sustainable forest management that would underlie a new public forest policy, in accordance with the international strategic documents and with the current challenges faced by the Romanian forest sector. The dialogue platform used in the elaboration of the vision has been coordinated by auniversity, precisely to ensure a unitary methodological approach to involve relevant experts and stakeholders in the process. The development of the vision used a stepwise participatory process based on the activity of a core group of experts followed by an extension of the group of experts, a public consultation process and a public debate. The result of the process is materialised in a set of eight sustainable forest management principles and four good governance principles. The implementation of the principles requires theidentification, through an efficient and constructive communication between all stakeholders, of specific directions of action that have to be integrated in a new regulatory system that needs to be clear, easily monitored and effective in terms of practical results.

Articolul prezintă o analiză a importanței procesului de certificare forestieră în identificarea și gestionarea serviciilor ecosistemice furnizate de Pădurile cu Valoare Ridicată de Conservare (PVRC). Datele au fost colectate din 13 rapoarte PVRC disponibile publicului larg care acoperă o suprafață totală de pădure de 117.507 ha. Procesul de identificare a PVRC a presupus cartarea a 28.882 ha de pădure care furnizează valori de conservare. Analiza datelor calitative ale rapoartelor s-a axat pe sursele de date folosite în procesul de identificare a PVRC, grupate în cinci categorii: (i) amenajamente silvice; (ii) planuri de management ale ariilor naturale protejate; (iii) alte surse de date disponibile; (iv) consultări publice cu factorii interesați și (v) implicarea personalului silvic. Rezultate au arătat că 80% din zonele identificate ca PVRC provin din informațiile obținute din amenajamentele silvice. Acestea fac referire la serviciile ecosistemice de reglare (protecția apelor, eroziunea solului și calitatea aerului) și la pădurile încadrate în zona de protecție strictă a ariilor naturale protejate. Procesul de identificare PVRC ajută la armonizarea între planurile de management Natura 2000 și amenajamentele silvice, în special, prin cartarea prezenței speciilor rare și amenințate și a habitatelor. O valoare adăugată de procesul PVRC este identificarea serviciilor culturale prin consultări publice cu factorii interesați și implicarea personalului de teren. Serviciile adiționale identificate în procesul de certificare oferă exemple pentru măsuri financiare prin care statul ar putea să recompenseze proprietarii de păduri pentru furnizarea de servicii ecosistemice peste limita cerută legal de amenajamente. În concluzie, analiza subliniază faptul ca amenajarea pădurilor oferă un cadru riguros de identificare a serviciilor ecosistemice forestiere, certificarea forestieră adăugând însă cerințe suplimentare de gestionare și de monitorizare a gradului de furnizarea a serviciilor ecosistemice.

Over the last 25 years, the post-communist countries have encompassed important changes in ownership because of the transition from a centralised regime to an open market economy. Following the implementation of three different land restitution laws, almost 51% of the Romanian forestlands are currently in non-state ownership. The paper uses the DPSIR (Driving Forces-Pressures-State-Impacts-Responses) framework to analyse the forest restitution governance process and its impact on resource management outcomes. We have analysed the social and political environment of the forest restitution (Driving forces), the current and the past structure of the private forests (State), the ecological, economic and social effects of restitution (Impacts) and the institutional tools used in private forests (Responses). Data collection techniques combined the scrutiny of literature on forest privatisation with a case study analysis based on remote sensing, field work inventory and questionnaires. The study analyses the situation of small scale forest tenures (less than 1 ha) given back to the former owners per the first law of land restitution (Law 18/1991). The results show that the forest restitution has been used as a trade-off between politicians' interest in winning political capital and owner's interest in getting short-term benefits from the forest. Despite the highly regulatory setting aiming to preserve the traditional rules of forest management, anthropic disturbances have affected on a large scale the private managed forests, while the policy responses were not able to encompass the new challenges brought by the changing ownership structure. The analysis concludes that the current policy responses are strengthening even more the regulatory framework but as reaction to a new policy goal: to limit the law infringements and the corruption created by the failure of enforcing the command and control instruments.

Proiectul ”Fem4Forest – Păduri în mâinile femeilor” este un proiect cofinanțat de Uniunea Europeană care își propune să aplice metode și instrumente inovatoare în vederea integrării femeii la locurile de muncă și în procesele de luare a deciziilor în sectorul forestier din regiunea Dunării, șă conducă la un schimb de bune practici cu privire la un rol mai activ al femeii specialist silvic sau proprietar de pădure și la sprijinirea femeilor prin creșterea egalității de șanse în privința oportunităților de angajare și de promovare.

This paper describes a permanent research platform (PRP) designed and implemented in &ldquo, Codrul secular Slătioara&rdquo, and its surroundings (2205.85 ha), having also the role of introductory paper for future research articles based on data collected from this platform. &ldquo, is known as one of the largest temperate mountainous intact forests of Europe and, in 2017, it was included in UNESCO World Heritage List, as part of the &ldquo, Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe&rdquo, Moreover, the PRP overlaps other three scientific reserves, the share of strictly protected forests exceeding 70%. This platform has a multiple role, being developed for research, conservation and educational activities. The PRP was designed for an ecological analysis of the intact forest ecosystems. It contains 193 circular sample plots, each of them of 500 m2, and it is structured on two levels. The first level contains 58 sample plots corresponding to a square grid of 500 &times, 500 m, stretching over the entire forested area, and the second level contains 135 plots, placed according to a square grid of 100 &times, 100 m, covering 136 ha within the core area of the UNESCO site. We measured the characteristics of 8296 living trees, 1743 standing dead trees, 1900 dead wood trunks, 3214 saplings, and the abundance&ndash, dominance indices of flora species. Thus, we identified 14 tree species, 17 shrub species, and 248 other cormophyte species forming the herbaceous layer. In terms of volume, the main tree species are Norway spruce, silver fir and European beech. The tallest species are Norway spruce (56 m) and silver fir (51 m). The average volume of living trees is 659 m3&middot, ha&minus, 1, with a maximum of 1441 m3&middot, 1. The mean total dead wood volume is about 158 m3&middot, 1, with sample plots where the total dead wood volume exceeds 600 m3&middot, 1. After presenting the results of preliminary data processing, the paper describes the main research topics to be further considered, based on the PRP, and the foresights related to the PRP&rsquo, s monitoring and development.

TLS is also known as ground-based LiDAR which provides the capacity to recreate the 3D vegetation structure with millimeter accuracy. The distance measurement of terrestrial laser scanner Z+F Imager 5010 is based on phase shift measurements which is more accurate than time of flight TLS. The time required for a single scan varies according to the resolution needed. In forestry, TLS is used for the detailed structured modelling of plots and individual trees. Terrestrial laser scanning of trees has been seen as the best alternative to indirect and direct (destructive) measurements of volume. TLS technique provides accurate estimates the location, DBH and tree height from point cloud and besides these measurements can be determined the volume on segments, commercial volume or crown volume. The quality of these metrics depends on the original scan data and their co-registration. We have done TLS measurements in six plots from FundivEurope research project with different slopes, tree density and species composition. The measurements allow us to identify which are advantages and disadvantages of using TLS in forest inventory, but in particular this study draws the attention to the precautions required for an accurate TLS use in biomass estimation.

The importance of green spaces in urban areas is a concept more and more discussed and included in the political agenda. Investments in green infrastructure can change the perception of residents, visitors or future investors about the attractiveness of a city. However, such investments are not easy to be achieved. Besides the human and financial capital necessary for the physical realization of the investments, an essential aspect is the perception of the inhabitants or visitors about the possible alternatives to combine the recreation facilities with the forest-specific natural landscapes. The object of this study is represented by the forest surrounding the Suceava citadel, named Șipote Dendrological Park. The area is a public owned forest and currently has recreational and soil protection functions assigned. In this context, the main purpose of the research is to identify the perception of the local community regarding alternatives of transforming this urban forest into a forest park. The specific objective of the research are: 1) the identification of community’s preferences for alternative strategies involving cutting of different sizes of forest to create recreational facilities; 2) the identification of preferences regarding the recreational facilities desired in an urban forest; 3) the identification of the willingness to pay for the investments nedeed to create a forest park. To assess the value of ecosystem services that are preferred by the local community we have used the contingent valuation method that helps identify consumers’ preferences over a range of alternatives. The method was based on the creation of three credible scenarios to test the alternatives for setting up different recreational facilities in the urban forest. The scenarios are identified based on a list of recreational facilities which imply interventions in cutting the forest as: S1-no forest cuts, S2-a cut of less than 30% of the forest area and S3-a cut of more than 30% of the forest area. In total, 305 questionnaires have been applied to identify citizens’ preferences which assures a confidence interval of 5.6%. The results show that the local community wants to retain the recreational function offered by the presence of the forest and desires in addition investments involving the creation of facilities for outdoor activities. Most of the surveyed participants are in favour of the second scenario and will like to have investments in cycling trails, kids’ playgrounds, fountains and an artificial lake. Nevertheless, the majority of the respondents are not willing to pay an entrance fee to compensate the value of additional facilities.

Romania has traditionally dealt with forest ecosystem services (FES) using a regulatory process of designing forest management plans (FMPs). We set an analytical framework to assess the integrated approach between FMPs, Natura 2000 biodiversity conservation network, and the forest certification system. The results show that, despite some relevant additional inputs, the delivery of FES remains strongly related to the normative FMP process. The specific presence of protected species and habitats of community interest has been identified on 18% of the Natura 2000 area included in the analysis. The Natura 2000 management plans are largely conveyed in elusive and precautionary terms of reference, so adding opportunity and administrative costs supported by forest owners. The participatory approach used in the forest certification process resulted in the identification of additional cultural, regulating and habitat ecosystem services on 1.6% of the analysed area. Considering the discrepancies between de jure normative planning and de facto implementation, we discuss the need for adapting the regulatory FES governance framework by making use of e.g. e.g. bottom-up participatory approaches, monitoring indicators for the effectiveness of management measures, and valuation techniques that would make beneficiaries and civil society to consider the opportunity costs for the delivery of FES.