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Nakoispainos Silviculture in the Northern Countries, 1829, reproduced in facsimile. Toimitus ja johdanto s. 1-37 (suomi/englanti): E. A. Martin Hagfors

A new approach for modelling plant growth using the software AMAPpara is presented. This software takes into consideration knowledge about plant architecture which has been accumulated at the Plant Modelling Unit of CIRAD for several years, and introduces physiological concepts in order to simulate the dynamic functioning of trees. The plant is considered as a serial connection of vegetative organs which conduct water from the roots to the leaves. Another simple description of the plant as a network of parallel pipes is also presented which allows an analytical formulation of growth to be written. This recurring formula is used for very simple architectures and is useful to understand the role of each organ in water transport and assimilate production. Growth simulations are presented which show the influence of modifications in architecture on plant development. (Resume d'auteur)

The model HYDRA, which simulates water flow in the branched tree architecture, is characterized. Empirical studies of the last decades give strong evidence for a close structure-function linkage in the case of tree water flow. Like stomatal regulation, spatial patterns of leaf specific conductivity can be regarded as a strategy counteracting conductivity losses, which may arise under drought. Branching-oriented water flow simulation may help to understand how damaging and compensating mechanisms interact within the hydraulic network of trees. Furthermore, a coupling of hydraulic to morphological modelling is a prerequisite if water flow shall be linked to other processes. Basic assumptions of the tree water flow model HYDRA are mass conservation, Darcy's law and the spatial homogeneity of capacitance and axial conductivity. Soil water potential is given as a one-sided border condition. Water flow is driven by transpiration. For unbranched regions these principles are condensed to a nonlinear diffusion equation, which serves as a continuous reference for the discrete method tailored to the specific features of the hydraulic network. The mathematical derivation and model tests indicate that the realization of the basic assumptions is reproducible and sufficiently exact. Moreover, structure and function are coupled in a flexible and computationally efficient manner. Thus, HYDRA may serve as a tool for the comparative study of different tree architectures in terms of hydraulic function.

This study examined the relationships between forest management planning units and patches formed by forest habitat components. The test area used was a part of Koli National Park in North Karelia, eastern Finland. Forest management planning units (i.e. forest compartments) were defined by using a traditional method of Finnish forestry which applies aerial photographs and compartment-wise field inventory. Patches of forest habitat components were divided according to subjective rules by using a chosen set of variables depicting the edaphic features and vegetation of a forest habitat. The spatial distribution of the habitat components was estimated with the kriging-interpolation based on systematically located sample plots. The comparisons of the two patch mosaics were made by using the standard tools of GIS. The results of the study show that forest compartment division does not correlate very strongly with the forest habitat pattern. On average, the mean patch size of the forest habitat components is greater and the number of these patches lower compared to forest compartment division. However, if the forest habitat component distribution had been considered, the number of the forest compartments would have at least doubled after intersection.

The purpose of this study was to compare the Weibull distributions estimated for the entire growing stock of a stand and separately for Scots pine ( L.) and Norway spruce ( (L.) H. Karst.) in describing the basal area diameter distributions in mixed stands. The material for this study was obtained by measuring 553 stands located in eastern Finland. The parameters of the Weibull distribution were estimated using the method of maximum likelihood. The models for these parameters were derived using regression analysis. Also, some parameter models from previous studies were compared with the measured distribution. The obtained distributions were compared using the diameter sums of the entire growing stock, diameter sums by tree species and of the sawtimber part of the growing stock. The results showed that far more accurate results were obtained when the distributions were formed using parameter models separately for the different tree species than when using parameter models for the entire growing stock. This was already true when considering the entire growing stock of the stand and especially when the results were examined by tree species. When the models for the entire growing stock were applied by tree species in relation to basal areas, the results obtained were overestimates for Norway spruce and underestimates for Scots pine. The models from earlier studies, where parameter models were estimated separately for tree species from the National Forest Inventory data, showed good fits also in regard to the data of this study.Pinus sylvestrisPicea abies

Three most promising protection methods of pine pulp wood stacks against the attacks of L. were compared. The methods were the covering of stacks by fibreglass-strengthened paper or twofold achrylene netting, removing the upper parts of stacks, and enhanced planning of the placement of the timber store using ARC/INFO GIS-software. was observed to strongly prefer the upper parts of the stacks: 90 % of the beetles occurred within 0.5 meters of the top of the stacks. Covering of the stacks decreased the attack density of , and the protection effect of covering was 80 %. Due to long transport distances and fragmentation of forest landscape the relocation of timber store was found to be an unsuitable method in the practical level. Also, taking into account the costs of the method, removing of the upper parts of stacks was considered to be the optimal solution.Tomicus piniperdaT. piniperdaT. piniperda

A metabolic model of height growth and site index is derived from a parametrization of the annual carbon balance of a tree. The parametrization is based on pipe-model theory. Four principal variants of the height-growth model correspond to four combinations of assumptions regarding carbon allocation: (a) the apical shoot is autonomous or (b) it is not; and (A) the specific rate of elongation of a shoot equals that of a woody root or (B) it does not. The bB model is the most general as it includes the aA, bA, and aB models as special cases. If the physiological parameters are constant, then the aA model reduces to the form of the Mitscherlich model and the bA model to the form of a Bertalanffy model. Responses of height growth to year-to-year variation in atmospheric conditions are rendered through adjustments of a subset of the model's parameters, namely, the specific rate of production of carbon substrate and three specific rates of maintenance respiration. As an example, the effect of the increasing atmospheric concentration of CO on the time-course of tree height of loblolly pine () is projected over 50-year span from 1986. Site index is predicted to increase and, more importantly, the shape of the site-index curve is predicted to change.2Pinus taeda

The existence and direction of causal relationships between the time series for the Finnish roundwood market for the period 1960â1994 is tested. Using simple bivariate analysis, we found evidence that for both logs and pulpwood, the lagged prices are helpful in forecasting quantity for the next year, but not vice versa. Saw log stumpage prices have significantly Granger-caused pulpwood prices over the business cycles, but the effect has diminished towards the present time. For quantities traded, the direction of causality was rather from pulpwood to saw logs. The consistency of bivariate test results was checked by the Granger-causality tests within trivariate VAR-models for both markets, and the results were found to be fairly similar to bivariate tests. The price fluctuations in the international markets for forest products have been found to be carried to domestic wood markets dominantly via the pulpwood part of the market.

Process-based tree growth models are recognized to be flexible tools which are valuable for investigating tree growth in relation to changing environment or silvicultural treatments. In the context of forestry, we address two key modelling problems: allocation of growth which determines total wood production, and distribution of wood along the stem which determines stem form and wood quality. Growth allocation and distribution are the outcome of carbon translocation, which may be described by the Münch theory. We propose a simpler gradient process to describe the carbon distribution in the phloem of conifers. This model is a re-formulation of a carbon diffusion-like process proposed by Thornley in 1972. By taking into account the continuity of the cambium along the stem, we obtain a one dimensional reaction-diffusion model which describes both growth allocation between foliage, stem and roots, and growth distribution along the stem. Distribution of wood along the stem is then regarded as an allocation process at a smaller scale. A preliminary sensitivity analysis is presented. The model predicts a strong relationship between morphology and foliage:root allocation. It also suggests how empirical data, such as stem analysis, could be used to calibrate and validate allocation rules in process-based growth models.

Linear programming (LP) is an important method for allocation of wood inventory stock. It is, for instance, used alone in tactical planning systems, which currently are in wide use at the higher hierarchical level in the functionally decentralized planning of the Finnish forest industry. Unfortunately, LP as a solution method has not been capable of handling spatial data that seem to characterize planning systems in geographical decentralization. In the present study, GIS was used to assimilate data from different wood procurement functions, to calculate transportation distances and cost figures, and to write the data in ASCII files, which were then used as input for the LP model. Using the experiments and methods of GIS on a planning system developed according to participatory planning, the results of this study suggest that the participatory method was faster than the conventional LP method, when solved using actual data. The participatory method was also capable of providing the same global optimum for a wood allocation problem. The implications of these results for improving operational and tactical planning of wood procurement in Finland are discussed.

A method for the measurement of the three-dimensional (3D) architecture of trees was applied to describe two 2O-year-old walnut trees, one of them is a timber tree while the other is a fruit tree. The method works at the shoot level and simultaneously describes the plant topology, the plant geometry and the shoot morphology. The method uses a 3D digitiser (3SPACE@ FASTRAK@, Polhemus Inc.) associated with software DiplAmi designqd for digitiser control and data acquisition management. Plant images may be reconstrxcted from the data set by using the ray tracing software FOV-Ray. Visual comparison between photographs of the walnut trees and images synthesised from digitising was satisfactory. Distribution of basal shoot diameter, as well as leaf area and fruit distributions for both the timber and the fruit tree were non-unifomly distributed in the crown volume. Gradients were likely to be related to the light distribution within the tree. This is in agreement with previous experimental results on several tree species, and also with the predictions of tree architecture models based on lightvegetation interactions.

The rule-based formal language of "stochastic sensitive growth grammars" was designed to describe algorithmically the changing morphology of forest trees during their lifetime under the impact of endogenous and exogenous factors, and to generate 3-D simulations of tree structures in a systematic manner. The description in the form of grammars allows the precise specification of structural models with functional components. These grammars (extended L-systems) can be interpreted by the software GROGRA (Growth grammar interpreter) yielding time series of attributed 3-D structures representing plants. With some recent extensions of the growth-grammar language (sensitive functions, local variables) it is possible to model environmental control of shoot growth and some simple allocation strategies, and to obtain typical competition effects in tree stands qualitatively in the model.

This paper reports on the possibility and difficulties in building growth models from past Forest Administration records on cut and growth in the Italian Alps. As a case study, a matrix model was calibrated for uneven-aged forests in the Valsugana valley of the Trentino province. The model gave reliable predictions over 30 years, and plausible long-term forest dynamics, including steady-states that are similar to virgin forests. The results support the view that the current forests are deeply altered as to composition, relative to what would obtain from natural growth. They also support the concept of long cyclic changes in natural stands, gradually approaching a climax state. Shortcomings of the data are that they do not come from an experimental design, they are not always accurate, and they must be supplemented with other information, especially concerning mortality. Still, these cheap and available data can lead to workable models adapted to local conditions, with many management applications.

Distribution and occurrence of bark beetles and other forest insects in relation to environmental variation were analysed by multivariate methods. Eight different forest edges were studied using 10 x 10 m sample plots that formed 200 m linear transects perpendicular to the forest edge. Forest edge affected the distribution of insect species only in the edges between mature, non-managed spruce stands and clear cuts or young seedling stands, but not in the pine stands. The occurrence of the selected forest insects mainly depended on variables associated with the amount and quality of suitable woody material. The most significant environmental variables were forest site type, crown canopy coverage, tree species, number of stumps, number of dead spruce trunks and amount of logging waste at site. Quantitative classification of species and sample plots showed that some specialized species ( and ) adapted to mature spruce forests, tended to withdraw from the forest edge to interior stand sites. By contrast many generalized species ( spp., spp. and ) benefitted from cuttings and spread over stand borders into mature forest. Xylechinus pilosus, Cryphalus saltuarius, Polygraphus poligraphusP. subopacusPityogenes chalcographus, P. quadridens, Pissodes Hylurgops palliatus, Tomicus piniperda, DryocoetesTrypodendron lineatum

A process-oriented tree and stand growth model is extended to be applicable to the analysis of timber quality, and how it is influenced by silvicultural treatments. The tree-level model is based on the carbon balance and it incorporates the dynamics of five biomass variables as well as tree height, crown base, and breast height diameter. Allocation of carbon is based on the conservation of structural relationships, in particular, the pipe model. The pipe-model relationships are extended to the whorl level, but in order to avoid a 3-dimensional model of entire crown structure, the branch module is largely stochastic and aggregated. In model construction, a top-down hierarchy is used where at each step down, the upper level sets constraints for the lower level. Some advantages of this approach are model consistency and efficiency of calculations, but probably at the cost of reduced flexibility. The detailed structure related with the branching module is preliminary and will be improved when more data becomes available. Model parameters are identified for Scots pine ( L.) in Southern Finland, and example simulations are carried out to compare the development of quality characteristics in different stocking densities.Pinus sylvestris

The purpose of this article was to collate the literature on fungal diseases that occur on seedlings in forest nurseries. It describes the symptoms of the diseases, the infection pattern of each fungus and the possibilities of controlling the diseases. As background a short introduction is given on forests and nursery practices in Finland.

A shoot:root carbon:nitrogen allocation model, based on the two processes of transport and chemical conversion, is described and explored. The view is proposed that all allocation models, whether built for the purposes of theoretical investigation or practical application, should start with this irreducible framework. In the present implementation, the processes operate according to: for substrate sources, dependence on shoot and root sizes, with possible product inhibition; for transport, movement down a substrate concentration gradient; for substrate sinks or utilization, linear bisubstrate kinetics. The dynamic and equilibrium properties of the model are explored. Failure of this approach to allocation will indicate to the modeller that additional mechanisms to control the processes are needed, and the mode of failure will indicate the type of mechanisms required. Additional mechanisms are discussed which may involve hormones or teleonomic (goal-seeking) controls, and may be added to the irreducible framework. However, these additions should not replace the irreducible framework of transport and chemical conversion, because they do not in reality. Modifications to the basic model to reflect some possibilities such as ontogenesis with the transition from exponential growth towards a steady state or with the scaling of within-plant transport resistances, the influence of hormones, and active transport, are described.

Cut-off importance sampling (CIS) is introduced as a means of sampling individual trees for the purpose of estimating bole volume. The novel feature of this variant of importance sampling is the establishment on the bole of a cut-off height, He, above which sampling is precluded. An estimator of bole volume between predetermined heights Hi and Hu > Hc is proposed, and its design-based bias and mean square error are derived. In an application of CIS as the second stage of a two-stage sample to estimate aggregate bole volume, the gain in precision realized from CIS more than offset its bias when compared to the precision of importance sampling when He = HJJ.

The carbon reservoir of ecosystems was estimated based on field measurements for forests and peatlands on an area in Finland covering 263 000 km2 and extending about 900 km across the boreal zone from south to north. More than two thirds of the reservoir was in peat, and less than ten per cent in trees. Forest ecosystems growing on mineral soils covering 144 000 km2 contained 10–11 kg C m–2 on an average, including both vegetation (3.4 kg C m–2) and soil (uppermost 75 cm; 7.2 kg C m–2). Mire ecosystems covering 65 000 km2 contained an average of 72 kg C m–2 as peat. For the landscape consisting of peatlands, closed and open forests, and inland water, excluding arable and built-up land, a reservoir of 24.6 kg C m–2 was observed. This includes the peat, forest soil and tree biomass. This is an underestimate of the true total reservoir, because there are additional unknown reservoirs in deep soil, lake sediments, woody debris, and ground vegetation. Geographic distributions of the reservoirs were described, analysed and discussed. The highest reservoir, 35–40 kg C m–2, was observed in sub regions in central western and north western Finland. Many estimates given for the boreal carbon reservoirs have been higher than those of ours. Either the Finnish environment contains less carbon per unit area than the rest of the boreal zone, or the global boreal reservoir has earlier been overestimated. In order to reduce uncertainties of the global estimates, statistically representative measurements are needed especially on Russian and Canadian peatlands.

Within the European Community snow damage affects an estimated 4 million m3 of timber every year, causing significant economic losses to forest owners. In Northern Europe, for example, the occurrence of snow damage has increased over the last few decades mainly due to the increase in total growing stock. The most common form of damage is stem breakage, but trees can also be bent or uprooted. Trees suffering snow damage are also more prone to consequential damage through insect or fungal attacks. Snow accumulation on trees is strongly dependent upon weather and climatological conditions. Temperature influences the moisture content of snow and therefore the degree to which it can accumulate on branches. Wind can cause snow to be shed, but can also lead to large accumulations of wet snow, rime or freezing rain. Wet snow is most likely in late autumn or early spring. Geographic location and topography influence the occurrence of damaging forms of snow, and coastal locations and moderate to high elevations experience large accumulations. Slope plays a less important role and the evidence on the role of aspect is contradictory. The occurrence of damaging events can vary from every winter to once every 10 years or so depending upon regional climatology. In the future, assuming global warming in northern latitudes, the risk of snow damage could increase, because the relative occurrence of snowfall near temperatures of zero could increase. The severity of snow damage is related to tree characteristics. Stem taper and crown characteristics are the most important factors controlling the stability of trees. Slightly tapering stems, asymmetric crowns, and rigid horizontal branching are all associated with high risk. However, the evidence on species differences is less clear due to the interaction with location. Management of forests can alter risk through choice of regeneration, tending, thinning and rotation. However, quantification and comparison of the absolute effect of these measures is not yet possible. An integrated risk model is required to allow the various locational and silvicultural factors to be assessed. Plans are presented to construct such a model, and gaps in knowledge are highlighted.

The effects of precommercial thinning on the quantity and external quality of young Scots pine stands were examined over two 10-year periods in an experiment comprising five stands growing on sub-dry sites in Finnish Lapland, northern Finland. The thinning treatments applied resulted in stand densities of 625, 1111, 1600, 2500 and 4444 stems ha–1 and a no-treatment, unthinned plot with a randomised block lay-out of two or tree replications in each stand. The dominant height of the stands varied between 4 and 8 m at the time of thinning. The trees reacted only slightly to the increase in growing space during the first ten years following precommercial thinning. During the second 10-year period, increased growing space was reflected more clearly in diameter and volume increment. These reactions were more evident in stands thinned at an early stage. The increment of the thinnest 100–200 trees ha–1 in each treatment was poor. The results showed that when the main principle in precommercial thinning is to achieve even spacing, the remaining smallest trees fail to react positively to the increase in growing space. In other words, the target of precommercial thinning should be to concentrate the increment on the tallest trees, even though they are located in groups. The external quality of the trees in stands where precommercial thinning was carried out at a later stage was high, and the diameter of the thickest branch along the butt log remained under 20 mm. Branch diameter was greater in stands thinned at an early stage. The effect of precommercial thinning on branch diameter when comparing the extreme treatments averaged 5 mm. When the aim of stand management is to combine high quality and good yield in naturally regenerated Scots pine stands in northern Finland, precommercial thinning should not be carried out before the dominant height of 7–8 m. The intensity of precommercial thinning depends on the yield targets of the first commercial thinning. A spacing of 2500 stems ha–1 satisfies the requirements of both high quality and adequate yield.

Many kinds of planning systems have been labelled decision support systems (DSS), but few meet the most important features of real DSSs in planning and control of wood procurement. It has been concluded that many reasons exist to develop DSSs for wood procurement. The purchasing of timber seems to be one of the most promising areas for DSS, because there is no formal structure for these operations and decisions deal with human behaviour. Relations between DSSs and different features of the new approaches in wood procurement are also discussed, and hypotheses for future studies suggested.

The objectives of this study was to record residual stand damage during harvesting operations and evaluate the influence of factors such as distance of the tree from the strip road, machine parts, operational phase, on the occurrence of tree wounds. The machine was a farm tractor equipped with a crane mounted on the front axle and a single grip harvester head. The study was carried out in two stands located in Southeast Sweden. Stand 1 was a 30-year-old Norway spruce (Picea abies L.) plantation on an afforested pasture while stand 2 was a 90-year-old mixed stand of Norway spruce, Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.), birch (Betula pendula Roth) and aspen (Populus tremula L.). The mean damage percentage was 6.3% for the first stand and 6.5% for the second stand. Sixty-five percent of the wounds were less than 50 cm2, with 91% of the damage occurring on the stem and 9% of the damage on or below the root collar. Sixty-six percent of the wounds produced by the stem under processing or by the harvesting head while only 10% of the wounds were produced by the tractor wheel. Damaged trees were distributed evenly in the crane reach zone. Significant differences were found between rut depths after one, two, four and six passes of the tractor in stand 1.

Possibilities of distance-independent and -dependent competition indices to describe the competition stress of an individual tree was studied in southern Finland. Five half-sib open-pollinated families and one check lot of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) was used as study material in order to analyse competitive interactions of crown form and stand density variation. Almost all competition indices correlated strongly with radial increment. Thus distance-independent indices were adequate to describe competition in young row plantations, where distance effects between trees were implicitly eliminated. Correlations between indices and height increment were not significant. Along with the increase in competition, the width and length of the crown and the diameter increment of the stem of some narrow-crowned families decreased slowly compared to wide-crowned families.

The study proposes a technique which enables the computation of user-defined indices for species diversity. These indices are derived from characteristics, called diversity indicators, of inventory plots, stand compartments, and the whole forest holding. The study discusses the modifications required to be made to typical forest planning systems due to this kind of biodiversity computation. A case study illustrating the use of the indices and a modified forest planning system is provided. In the case study, forest-level species diversity index was computed from the volume of dead wood, volume of broadleaved trees, area of old forest, and between-stand variety. At the stand level, the area of old forest was replaced by stand age, and variety was described by within-stand variety. All but one of the indicators were further partitioned into two to four sub-indicators. For example, the volume of broadleaved trees was divided into volumes of birch, aspen, willow, and other tree species. The partial contribution of an indicator to the diversity index was obtained from a sub-priority function, determined separately for each indicator. The diversity index was obtained when the partial contributions were multiplied by the weights of the corresponding indicators and then were summed. The production frontiers computed for the harvested volume and diversity indices were concave, especially for the forest-level diversity index, indicating that diversity can be maintained at satisfactory level with medium harvest levels.

The effects of two alternative formulations of sapwood senescence on the behaviour of model LIGNUM (with parameter values adjusted for Scots pine ( L.) growing southern Finland) were studied. The two alternatives were autonomous sapwood senescence assuming a maximum age for the tree ring, and sapwood senescence that is controlled by the mortality of foliage. For the latter alternative two hypothetical further mechanisms were stipulated. All the formulations were implemented in LIGNUM. Simulations were made with all model variants for fertile and poor soil conditions using high, normal and low rates of foliage mortality. The simulation results were compared against of a data set consisting of 11 open grown Scots pine trees from southern Finland. Observations of heartwood proportion were used in this study. They show that heartwood starts to increase in trees from age of approximately 20 years onwards. The simulation results showed no differences between fertile and poor soil conditions as regards heartwood formation. Of the variants of foliage-controlled sapwood senescence the one where death of sapwood in a tree segment induces sapwood senescence in the tree parts below only slightly was the best. This and the autonomous sapwood senescence corresponded equally well to the observations. In order to make more refined conclusions additional data and simulations are necessary.Pinus sylvestris

The purpose of this study was to test the benefits of a forest site quality map, when applying satellite image-based forest inventory. By combining field sample plot data from national forest inventories with satellite imagery and forest site quality data, it is possible to estimate forest stand characteristics with higher accuracy for smaller areas. The reliability of the estimates was evaluated using the data from a stand-wise survey for area sizes ranging from 0.06 ha to 300 ha. When the mean volume was estimated, a relative error of 14 per cent was obtained for areas of 50 ha; for areas of 30 ha the corresponding figure was below 20 per cent. The relative gain in interpretation accuracy, when including the forest site quality information, ranged between 1 and 6 per cent. The advantage increased according to the size of the target area. The forest site quality map had the effect of decreasing the relative error in Norway spruce () volume estimations, but it did not contribute to Scots pine () volume estimation procedure.Picea abiesPinus sylvestris

International audience; An ecophysiological growth process model, called INCA, for simulating the growth and development of a young walnut tree (Juglans regia L.) during three or four years, is presented. This tool, currently under development, aims at integrating architectural and physiological knowledge of the processes involved, in order to give a more rational understanding of the pruning operation. The model describes a simple three-dimensional representation of tree crown, solar radiation interception, photosynthesis, respiration, growth and partitioning of assimilates to leaves, stems, branches and roots. It supports the hypothesis that the tree grows as a collection of semiautonomous, interacting organs that compete for resources, based on daily sink strengths and proximity to sources. The actual growth rate of organs is not predetermined by empirical data, but reflects the pattern of available resources. The major driving variables are solar radiation, temperature, topological, geometrical and physiological factors. Outputs are hourly and daily photosynthate production and respiration, daily dimensional growth, starch sorage, biomass production and total number of different types of organ. The user can interact or override any or all of the input variables to examine the effects of such changes on photosynthate production and growth. Within INCA, the tree entities and the surrounding environment are structured in a frame-based representation whereas the processes are coded in a rule-based language. The simulation mechanism is primarilybased on the rule chaining capabilities of an inference engine.; L'article présente un modèle écophysiologique de croissance et développement du noyer. INCA vise à intégrer les connaissances architecturales et physiologiques que l'on a sur le sujet, de manière à optimiser les opérations de taille.

International audience; A method for the measurement of the three-dimensional (3D) architecture of trees was applied to describe two 2O-year-old walnut trees, one of them is a timber tree while the other is a fruit tree. The method works at the shoot level and simultaneously describes the plant topology, the plant geometry and the shoot morphology. The method uses a 3D digitiser (3SPACE@ FASTRAK@, Polhemus Inc.) associated with software DiplAmi designed for digitiser control and data acquisition management. Plant images may be reconstructed from the data set by using the ray tracing software FOV-Ray. Visual comparison between photographs of the walnut trees and images synthesised from digitising was satisfactory. Distribution of basal shoot diameter, as well as leaf area and fruit distributions for both the timber and the fruit tree were non-uniformly distributed in the crown volume. Gradients were likely to be related to the light distribution within the tree. This is in agreement with previous experimental results on several tree species, and also with the predictions of tree architecture models based on light-vegetation interactions.

Estimates of individual heritability and genetic correlation are presented for a set of 10 growth and quality traits based on data from 16 Scots pine ( L.) progeny trials in Finland. Seven of the traits (tree height, stem diameter, crown width, Pilodyn value, branch diameter, branch angle and branch number) were objectively measured, whereas three traits (stem straightness, branching score and overall score) were assessed visually. The genetic correlations were mostly moderate or low, and favourable from the tree breeder's point of view. All variables related to tree size correlated relatively strongly and positively. Tree height exhibited a more favourable genetic relationship with the crown form traits than diameter, the latter showing positive correlation with branch diameter. Except for the slight negative correlation between branch angle and branch diameter, the branching traits were not notably correlated. The pilodyn value was positively correlated with stem diameter, reflecting negative correlation between diameter growth and wood density. The highest genetic correlations occurred among the two visually evaluated quality scores and branch diameter. All of the heritabilities were less than 0.4. Overall score, Pilodyn, branch angle, branching score and tree height showed the highest heritability.Pinus sylvestris

In this paper, different approaches and results concerning forest tax design are reviewed. In particular, comparisons are made between Scandinavian approaches, which rely on the two-period model, and North American approaches, which largely rely on the Faustmann model. Existing work is critically evaluated according to several stylized facts that are common among forest taxation problems. These include the second-best forest policy environment, joint production of public and private forest goods, the dynamic nature of forest capital, public and private ownership, competition between forest and non-forest sectors, and global policy constraints on taxation design. The gaps in addressing stylized facts are used to motivate new research directions. Problems and appropriate public finance literature are identified for investigating forest tax policy under government budget constraints, fiscal federalism, dynamic forest tax design, open economy forest tax policy, and econometric studies of reform. One conclusion reached from discussing future research is that two period and dynamic models will continue to prove useful in analysing taxation design from the government's perspective.

Dry mass and nutrient (N, P, K, Ca, Mg, B) contents of field layer vegetation and a combination of bottom layer vegetation and litter (referred to as bottom/litter layer in the text) were studied one year before and three years after fertilization (NPK and PK) on a drained low-shrub pine bog in eastern Finland. The results of an earlier study on the tree layer were combined with those of this study in order to estimate the changes caused by fertilization in the total plant biomass and litter. Before fertilization the average dry mass of the field and bottom/litter layers was 8,400 kg ha and 7,650 kg ha respectively. The above-ground parts accounted for 25% of the total field layer biomass. The dry mass of the field and bottom/litter layers together was < 20% of the dry mass accumulated in the total plant biomass and litter. The corresponding figures for N, P, K, Ca, Mg and B were 44%, 38%, 30%, 38%, 31% and 17%, respectively. Fertilization did not significantly affect the dry mass of either the field layer vegetation or the bottom/litter layer. 33% of the applied P was accumulated in the total plant biomass and litter on the PK-fertilized plots, and 25% on the NPK-fertilized plots. For the other elements, the proportions on the PK-fertilized plots were K 31%, Ca 6%, Mg 11% and B 13%. On the NPK-fertilized plots, the corresponding figures were N 62%, K 32%, Ca 6%, Mg 9% and B 13%. Except for B and K, the accumulation of fertilizer nutrients in the understorey vegetation and litter was of the same magnitude or greater than the uptake by the tree layer.-1-1

The paper elaborates upon various theories to explain economic development and restructuring in the forested regions of advanced countries. The concepts of communities based on the forest sector and the concept of restructuring are discussed before presenting the diversity of relevant theories. Different theoretical approaches in geography and regional and socio-economic sciences are analysed, and the paper concludes that each theory gives only a partial explanation of restructuring under certain conditions. This paper recommends that an explanatory framework should take into account â in addition to general explanatory factors â sectoral, local-specific and policy-related factors and the role of human agency in attempts to explain restructuring and development.

This article is a book review on a book âLodgepole pine in North Americaâ by Peter Koch, which is based partly on a synthesis of more than 6,000 papers on lodgepole pine, and partly on a systematic collection and analysis of wood and bark from branches, stems, stumps, and roots, as well as of foliage, of lodgepole pines.

Part I Climate Change A total of 1800 3-year old seedlings of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) from two Norwegian and one German provenance were treated with two different nitrogen levels during the 1992 growth season. The plants were kept during the following winter at two different temperature levels. In the spring of 1993 the nutrient application was resumed, and the plants were divided between three different treatments, 350 and 650 p.p.m. in open top chambers and a control plot outside the chambers. This treatment was repeated also during the following 1994 growth season. The growth and primary production was studied by photosynthesis experiments and by non-destructive growth measurements. The results indicate that raised winter temperatures may lead to increased needle loss and reduced growth the following season, particularly in northern provenances. Carbon dioxide significantly influenced growth in addition to nutrient level and winter temperature. High CO2 also seemed to cause increased photosynthesis at early season, and earlier budbreak and growth cessation than in control plants.

The effect of species mixture was studied in a mixed stand of Norway spruce ( (L.) H. Karst.) and Scots pine ( L.) by simulating around 100 different treatment schedules during the rotation in a naturally regenerated even-aged stand located on a site of medium fertility in North Karelia, Finland. Both thinning from below and thinning from above were applied. Optimum rotations were determined by maximising the net present value calculated to infinity and different treatment schedules were compared with the net present value over one rotation as per rotation applied. In the optimum treatment programme, the proportion of pines was decreased by half of the basal area in the first thinning stage and by the end of the rotation to about one third. In thinning from above, the proportion of pines can be maintained at a slightly higher level. It is economically profitable to maintain the growing stock capital at approximately the level recommended by Forest Centre Tapio, a semi-governmental forestry authority. With non-optimum species composition, the loss in net present value over one rotation can be about 10 % in thinning from below and about 20 % in thinning from above. Picea abiesPinus sylvestris

Postfire recovery of species diversity (including a number of species, entropy of species relative coverage (Shannon index of species diversity) was studied in lichen and green moss site types of Scots pine ( L.) forests in the central part of the Kola Peninsula. The results obtained indicate the difference in the dynamics of characteristics of biodiversity of forest components during postfire recovery. The stabilization of separate components of forest community varies in time from 5â15 to 120â140 years after the fire. Characteristics of the dwarf shrub and herb stratum recovered and stabilized 5â15 years after fire, while the complete stabilization of characteristics of moss-lichen cover is observed in community with fire ages of 90â140 years. Species richness of tree stratum recovered 120â140 years after fire. Time of complete stabilization of species richness of the community was estimated 120â140 years after fire. The size of the area over which characteristics of the biodiversity were estimated effected the mean values and, in most cases, the character of variation of studied characteristics. Over an area of 1 x 1 m dynamics of characteristics of species diversity coincide in forests of the studied types. Regardless of forest type within the area of 100 m species richness recovered 30 years after the fire (i.e. 3â5 times earlier than the establishment of the complete stabilization of the forest structure). That means that floristic composition of the forest remained unchanged from 30 to 210 years after the fire.Pinus sylvestris2

Part II Biodiversity The horizontal and vertical stand structure of living trees was examined in a managed and in a primeval spruce-dominated forest in southern Finland. Tree size distributions (DBHs, tree heights) were compared using frequency histograms. The vertical distribution of tree heights was illustrated as tree height plots and quantified as the tree height diversity (THD) using the Shannon-Weaver formula. The horizontal spatial pattern of trees was described with stem maps and quantified with Ripley’s K-function. The spatial autocorrelation of tree sizes was examined with semivariogram analysis. In the managed forest the DBH and height distributions of trees were bimodal, indicating a two-layered vertical structure with a single dominant tree layer and abundant regeneration in the understory. The primeval forest had a much higher total number of trees which were rather evenly distributed in different diameter and tree height classes. The K-function summaries for trees taller than 15 m indicated that the primeval stand was close to complete random pattern. The managed stand was regular at small distances (up to 4 m). The semivariograms of tree sizes (DBH, tree height) showed that the managed forest had a clear spatial dependence in tree sizes up to inter-tree distances of about 12 meters. In contrast, the primeval spruce forest had a variance peak at very short inter-tree distances (< 1 m) and only weak spatial autocorrelation at short inter-tree distances (1–5 m). Excluding the understory trees (h < 15 m) from the analysis drastically changed the spatial structure of the forest as revealed by semivariograms. In general, the structure of the primeval forest was both horizontally and vertically more variable and heterogeneous compared to the managed forest. The applicability of the used methods in describing fine-scale forest structure is discussed.

Part I Climate Change The present study is the first attempt to carry out an inventory of greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes in the forests of Estonia. The emission and uptake of CO2 as a result of forest management, forest conversion and abandonment of cultivated lands in Estonia was estimated. The removal of GHG by Estonian forests in 1990 exceeded the release about 3.3 times. Changes in the species composition and productivity of forest sites under various simulated climate change scenarios have been predicted by using the Forest Gap Model for the central and coastal areas of Estonia. The computational examples showed that the changes in forest community would be essential.

Part I Climate Change The productivity of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) under changing climatic conditions in the southern part of Finland was studied by scenario analysis with a gap-type forest ecosystem model. Standard simulations with the model predicted an increased rate of growth and hence increased productivity as a result of climatic warming. The gap-type model was refined by introducing an overwintering submodel describing the annual growth cycle, frost hardiness, and frost damage of the trees. Simulations with the refined gap-type model produced results conflicting with those of the standard simulations, i.e., drastically decreased productivity caused by mortality and growth-reducing damage due to premature dehardening in the changing climate. The overwintering submodel was tested with frost hardiness data from Scots pine saplings growing at their natural site 1) under natural conditions and 2) under elevated temperature conditions, both in open-top chambers. The model predicted the frost hardiness dynamics quite accurately for the natural conditions while underestimating the frost hardiness of the saplings for the elevated temperature conditions. These findings show that 1) the overwintering submodel requires further development, and 2) the possible reduction of productivity caused by frost damage in a changing climate is less drastic than predicted in the scenario analysis. The results as a whole demonstrated the need to consider the overwintering of trees in scenario analysis carried out with ecosystem models for boreal conditions. More generally, the results revealed a problem that exists in scenario analysis with ecological models: the accuracy of a model in predicting the ecosystem functioning under present climatic conditions does not guarantee the realism of the model, nor for this reason the accuracy for predicting the ecosystem functioning under changing climatic conditions. This finding calls for the continuous rigorous experimental testing of ecological models used for assessing the ecological implications of climatic change.

Part I Climate Change The effects of realistically elevated O3 and CO2 concentrations on the needle ultrastructure and photosynthesis of ca. 20 year-old Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) saplings were studied during one growth period in open-top field chambers situated on a natural pine heath at Mekrijärvi, in eastern Finland. The experiment included six different treatments: chamberless control, filtered air, ambient air and elevated O3, CO2 and O3 + CO2. Significant increases in the size of chloroplast and starch grains were recorded in the current-year needles of the saplings exposed to elevated CO2. These responses were especially clear in the saplings exposed to elevated O3 + CO2 concentrations. These treatments also delayed the winter hardening process in cells. In the shoots treated with O3, CO2 and combined O3 + CO2 the Pmax was decreased on average by 50% (ambient CO2) and 40% (700 ppm CO2). Photosynthetic efficiency was decreased by 60% in all the treated shoots measured under ambient conditions and by 30% in the CO2 and O3 + CO2 treated shoots under 700 ppm. The effect of all the treatments on photosynthesis was depressive which was probably related to evident accumulation of starch in the chloroplasts of the pines treated with CO2 and combined O3 + CO2. But in O3 treated pines, which did not accumulate starch in comparison to pines subjected to ambient air conditions, some injuries may be already present in the photosynthetic machinery.

Part I Climate Change A system of zonality in Siberia has been formed under the control of continentality, which provides the heat and humidity regimes of the forest provinces. Three sectors of continentality and four to six boreal subzones form a framework for the systematisation of the different features of land cover in Siberia. Their climatic ordination provides the fundamental basis for the principal potential forest types (composition, productivity) forecasting the current climate. These are useful in predicting the future transformations and successions under global changes.

Part II Biodiversity Nearly every forest stand in Finland has been burnt down by a wildfire at least once during the past 400–500 years. Slash and burn cultivation (1700–1920) was practised on 50–75 percent of Finland’s forests, while prescribed burning (1920–1990) has been applied to 2–3 percent of the country’s forests. Because of land-use changes and efficient fire prevention and control systems, the occurrence of wildfires in Finland has decreased considerably during the past few decades. Owing to the biodiversity and ecologically favourable influence of fire, the current tendency is to revive the use of controlled fire in forestry in Finland. Prescribed burning is used in forest regeneration and endeavours are being made to revert old conservation forests to the starting point of succession through forest fires.

Part I Climate Change There is no doubt that tree survival, growth, and reproduction in North America’s boreal forest would be directly influenced by the projected changes in climate if they occur. The indirect effects of climate change may be of even greater importance, however, because of their potential for altering the intensity, frequency, and perhaps even the very nature of the disturbance regimes which drive boreal forest dynamics. Insect defoliator populations are one of the dominating disturbance factors in North America’s boreal forests and during outbreaks trees are often killed over vast forest areas. If the predicted shifts in climate occur, the damage patterns caused by insects may be considerably changed, particularly those of insects whose temporal and spatial distributions are singularly dependent on climatic factors. The ensuing uncertainties directly affect depletion forecasts, pest hazard rating procedures, and long-term planning for pest control requirements. Because the potential for wildfire often increases in stands after insect attack, uncertainties in future insect damage patterns also lead to uncertainties in fire regimes. In addition, because the rates of processes key to biogeochemical and nutrient recycling are influenced by insect damage, potential changes in damage patterns can indirectly affect ecosystem resilience and the sustainability of the multiple uses of the forest resource. In this paper, a mechanistic perspective is developed based on available information describing how defoliatoring forest insects might respond to climate warming. Because of its prevalence and long history of study, the spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana Clem. (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), is used for illustrative purposes in developing this perspective. The scenarios that follow outline the potential importance of threshold behavior, historical conditions, phenological relationships, infrequent but extreme weather, complex feedbacks, and natural selection. The urgency of such considerations is emphasized by reference to research suggesting that climate warming may already be influencing some insect lifecycles.

Fresh and herb-rich upland forest sites in the northwestern part of the central boreal vegetation zone in Finland were studied with respect to vegetation structure and vegetation–environment relationships (soil, stand characteristics). Two fresh heath vegetation data sets, one from the northern boreal zone and the other from the central boreal zone, were compared with the data of this study using multivariate methods. The variation in heath forest vegetation within the climatically uniform area was mainly determined by the fertility of the soil (in this case primarily Ca and Mg) and the stage of stand development. The N, P and K content of the humus layer varied little between the vegetation classes. Fertile site types occurred, in general, on coarser-textured soils than infertile site types, may be due to the fact that the sample plots were located in various bedrock and glacial till areas, i.e. to sampling effects. The place of the vegetational units of the study area in the Finnish forest site type system is discussed. The vegetation of the area has features in common with the northern boreal zone as well as the southern part of the central boreal vegetation zone. The results lend some support to the occurrence of a northern Myrtillus type (p.MT) or at least that intermediate forms of fresh and herb-rich mineral soil sites commonly occur in the studied area. It is argued that the older name Dryopteris-Myrtillus type (DMT) is more suitable than Geranium-Oxalis-Myrtillus type (GOMT) for herb-rich heath sites in the study area.

Part I Climate Change BOREAS is a four-year, regional-scale experiment to study the forested continental interior of Canada. The objective of BOREAS is to improve our understanding of the interaction between the earth’s climate system and the boreal forest at short and intermediate time scales, in order to clarify their role in global change. During the winter, spring and summer of 1994, five field campaigns were conducted. About 85 investigation teams including nearly 300 scientists participated, including forest ecologists and ecophysiologists, atmospheric physicists, boundary-layer meteorologists, hydrologists, biochemists, atmospheric chemists and remote sensing specialists. Data from the field campaigns is being placed into a central archive at the Goddard Space Flight Center for immediate access by all participating scientists, and eventually by the outside scientific community. Analysis of the data began in mid-summer as the data were being collected and continues at a rapid pace. The findings so far have been significant in terms of their implications for global change. The boreal ecosystem, occupying roughly 17 percent of the vegetated land surface and thus an important driver of global weather and climate, absorbs much more solar energy than is assumed by operational numerical weather prediction models. Albedo measurements in BOREAS shows that this forest absorbs nearly 91 percent of the sun’s incident energy. Additionally, while it is known that much of the boreal ecosystem consists of forested wetlands, numerous lakes, bogs and fens, tower and aircraft measurements during 1994 show that the atmosphere above was extremely dry; humidity and deep boundary layer convection (3000 m) mimicked conditions found only over deserts. Physiological measurements of the trees during BOREAS show that this atmospheric desiccation was a result of the forest’s strong biological control limiting surface evaporation. The data further show this tight control was linked to the low soil temperatures and subsequently reduced rates of photosynthesis. BOREAS measurements also focused on net ecosystem carbon exchange. Data acquired during the late spring and summer, showed the boreal forest to be a net carbon sink. However, no measurements were taken in the early spring following thaw, and in the late fall, where the balance between photosynthesis and respiration is poorly understood. During 1996 additional data will be acquired to resolve the annual carbon budget and how it might depend on interannual climate differences.