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The demand for the multipurpose use of forestry accentuates the development of non-timber forest products and services and the search for other sources of financial benefits for forest owners and users. One of the essential market items of non-timber forest production is game production, a very high-quality local food source. Currently, in the Czech Republic, as well as in neighbouring countries, the amount of game being offered is increasing, while the purchase prices of game have stagnated at very low levels for a long time, despite the fact that consumer prices of meat have generally increased. A prerequisite for the development of the market for game products and the effective use of marketing tools is the analysis of important factors influencing the consumer demand for game. Therefore, the possible limiting factors on the customer side, the removal of which can change the demand for game meat and increase the consumption of game production, were investigated. Igor Ansoff’s approach is used to analyse growth opportunities in the game market from the point of view of marketing strategies. The preconditions for using Porter’s STP process to design a pull strategy on the consumer market are verified. Based on the Parfitt–Collins model, the research mainly focuses on a sample of active consumers who are a subgroup of a representative panel of 1000 respondents. The demographic characteristics and buying behaviour of the subgroup of 523 active consumers who regularly consume game meat were analysed. Significant factors and potential segmentation criteria were identified. On the basis of these research results, the article discusses, in detail, the marketing aspects related to the development of the game market, and marketing procedures are also proposed that can significantly support consumer demand in the game market using a mix of marketing tools. The increased demand for game meat will help to reduce the overpopulation of cloven-hoofed game in the forests of the Czech Republic, which will positively impact the reduction of animal damage to the forest environment, especially in areas newly forested after the bark beetle calamity.

The bioeconomy, as a new phenomenon using renewable resources, significantly affects the forestry sector in many countries. Individual countries have implemented forest policies by financially supporting forestry in different ways and for different reasons. The nature and targeting of this support vary from country to country. In a simplified way, it is possible to divide them into two categories: production support and environmental protection support (e.g., to ensure sustainable development). The aim of this article is to analyse the substantive focus of forestry subsidies from national sources in the Czech Republic and, subsequently, compare them with the Czech focus of a forest bioeconomy (FBE). The objective of this analysis is to analyse the financial support provided by the Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic (MoA) between 2018 and 2021. As the Czech Republic’s FBE is not clearly defined, it was analysed and described with the help of the relevant national strategic and political documents. Subsequently, the obtained results were compared with each other to see if the financial subsidies were in line with the Czech FBE. The focus of the subsidies in the years under review is influenced by the situation in Czech forestry, which has faced a severe bark beetle outbreak, causing the financial sources provided to forest owners to increase significantly due to the bark beetle outbreak, which has affected the whole forest sector. The results show that some types of support are provided in accordance with FBE, while others are not. The general conclusions are that the financial support for forestry does not fully represent the Czech FBE.

The COVID-19 pandemic affected people all over the world, including the Czech Republic (CZ). In the CZ, a number of measures were applied in 2020 to reduce the contact between people and their mobility. This article dealt with the importance of forests during the pandemic. Data from 2019 and 2020 were compared. The qualitative data were obtained from two nationwide surveys, the first focused on forest attendance and forest fruit collection (about 1000 respondents per year), the second on the motivation to visit the forests (about 3700 respondents per year). The quantitative data were obtained on the regional level by analysing data from mobility counters. The impact of government restrictions was assessed. Findings: (1) there was a significant increase in the number of people who frequently visited the forest in 2020; (2) in 2020, the amount of households that collected forest fruits increased and was the highest for the monitored period; (3) the increased forest attendance significantly corresponded to the government restrictions. The analysis confirmed the great importance of forests for the citizens and, at the same time, the increased pressure on the forests’ use—forest attendance and forest crops picking—(especially suburban ones) in times of COVID-19 restrictions.

Ecosystem services are investigated from many perspectives, but there are very few studies comparing the perception of forest and demand for forest ecosystem services (FES) in a cross-cultural analysis. This study aims to map the demand for FES and find out the forest perception of forest visitors in both Czech and Chinese societies. Data were collected by structured questionnaire among three different groups of respondents (n = 847) in six forest areas. The questions were focused on the demand for FES, expectations from the forest, preference for the visual form of the forest, and the willingness of forest visitors. Analysis demonstrates that the demand for some FES is related to geographical and cultural conditions. The results indicated that provisioning and regulation services are perceived as more important than cultural services. The differences by country were obvious in the cultural and provisioning services: Chinese demand more relaxing and meditation activities, whereas Czech demand mushroom picking. A significant outcome is a high demand of Chinese respondents for recreational facilities. Tree planting was rated as one of the most popular voluntary activity across the whole sample. Meanwhile, some findings point to an increasing pressure on forest ecosystems and their protection, which emerge due to the strong demand for recreational facilities. According to the findings, active involvement of forest visitors in various activities is recommended so that their appreciation of FES will constantly increase and to take into account the profile of visitors and incorporate them in forest management and planning in order to meet societal demand.

In Europe, private forest owners play an important role in achieving sustainability goals, such as those set by the European Green Deal. Efficient communication and coordination with these actors is therefore central. However, ongoing structural changes in forest ownership have in many cases silenced traditional communication channels, especially those involving owners of small forests. Their economic performance is often negligible at an individual level, yet collectively their forests play a pivotal role in a context of increasing demand for wood products. In this article, we analyse and compare forest campaigns in nine European countries. Specifically, we assess one-way and two-way communication models applying different techniques to engage (non-traditional) forest owners. Our analysis of 34 campaigns shows that (i) one-way communication models are still more widely used in the forest sector to engage non-traditional forest owners than two-way communication models; (ii) one-way communication aims at informing and is effective for short-term awareness raising, while two-way communication aims at persuading and is essential to trigger forest management activities over the long-term, (iii) interactive learning tools can play a crucial role for reaching and engaging (non-traditional) forest owners. We further conclude that campaigns could be improved by having 1) joint campaigns with public and private actors, 2) convincing narratives developed based on a good understanding of forest owners' motivations, 3) adapting the timing of campaigns to windows of opportunities and 4) developing intermediary associations (e.g. non-traditional forest owner associations) as connectors and trust builders between different actors as they play a crucial role in providing information to forest owners and supporting their engagement., Forest Policy and Economics, 133, ISSN:1389-9341

The globally accepted concept of a bioeconomy includes the field of forestry; however, the concept of a forest bioeconomy (FBE) does not appear to be defined uniformly. The concepts of bioeconomy and sustainable development are interlinked. In many countries, the bioeconomy is often the subject of efforts to quantify it from the state level, and therefore, the question arises as to whether the data regarding the financial support of an FBE in individual countries can be considered mutually comparable, with the aim of including them, for example, among the criteria for measuring sustainability (e.g., indicators of sustainable development—SDI). This option has political implications for political representation, taking the form of a comparable indicator in the approaches of individual states. This article analytically compares FBEs and our understanding of them in selected countries: Czechia, Slovakia, Finland, Italy, and Germany. Czechia financially supports various areas of forestry through European funds (Rural Development Programme, RDP CZ). In this article, we assess this support from the point of view of the perceptions of the FBE in the studied states, with an emphasis on the view of Czechia. First, an FBE analysis of the selected official and supporting documents of the studied countries was performed. The total financial data from the supported projects from the RDP CZ were subsequently assigned to these areas. Thus, the idea of financial support for the FBE through the RDP CZ from the perspectives of the selected countries was born. The differences in the perception of the FBE according to the description derived from the analysis were also confirmed by the different financial quantifications (hypothetical) of these different views. The obtained results demonstrate an incomparable state of perception of the FBE among the selected countries. For these reasons, it is currently inappropriate to use the level of FBE financial support to measure sustainability.

Agroforestry, the use of trees at the interface between agricultural and forestry systems, is a key component of the multifunctional European landscape, where it provides a whole range of ecosystem services. Its main potential lies in the provision of services including increasing economic yield in agriculture and providing anti-erosion measures. The main objective of this research is to assess the perception of the providing ecosystem services of woody plants growing in agroforestry by farmers as key land users in the Czech Republic. Different aspects influencing farmers’ subjective perceptions were identified, especially depending on conventional versus organic farming methods. Respondents’ views were mapped using a structured questionnaire, which allowed for independently assessing the importance of windbreaks. Respondents considered regulatory ecosystem services the most important ones, in particular reducing soil erosion and flood risk, or increasing the resilience of the landscape to drought. Respondents perceived the physical obstruction of trees during mechanical tillage and the tenancy relationship with the land as the most significant problem with the introduction of agroforestry systems. The aim of this study is to promote innovative approaches in the national agricultural strategy in agroforestry as one of the tools for climate change adaptation towards sustainable agricultural production.

This study compares the economic efficiency of wooden buildings from standard to low-energy, near-passive, and zero-energy homes. The comparison was carried out over the entire expected life cycle of the building (100 years), but due to the high uncertainty of the predictions of fuel and energy prices or discount rates and the clarity of the depiction of the subsequent results, a period of 30 years was also chosen. The most common and most suitable media and combinations for heating (gas, electricity, and wood) were selected. When calculating the entire life cycle of a building, it was found that the more stringent the energy standard, the lower the overall life cycle costs, and the share of heating costs also decreases with the highest costs being electricity heating alternatives. Adversely, the lowest costs were for the fictitious zero-energy home (ZEN) alternative with net metering followed, by some distance, by near zero-energy home alternatives and passive homes. With the chosen period of 30 years, initially after construction, it was shown that the cost is lowest to heat a standard home with gas, which is used by more than 60% of family homes for heating in the Czech Republic.

Bilberries (Vaccinium myrtillus L.), raspberries (Rubus idaeus L.), blackberries (Rubus fruticosus L.) and cowberries (Vaccinium vitis-idaea L.) are the most important forest berries collected in the Czech Republic (CZ). The average annual value of these collected berry species is estimated to be worth more than EUR 86 million at 2018 prices. The data concerning the collection and use of forest fruits have been systematically collected in a highly detailed structure since 2008, which enables the application of the advanced statistical methods used in this paper. The results of the analyses inter alia demonstrate that collecting forest berries is not only an important recreational activity, but it has an important economic effect. Therefore, this article also deals with the collection of forest fruits, especially bilberries, as a potentially important non-wood forest product (NWFP) for sustainable forest management and also analyses the external factors influencing the total annual amount of collected forest berries. A deeper knowledge of the customer and his or her behaviour&mdash, customer insight&mdash, are prerequisites for the proactive management of forest ecosystems. The first step to &ldquo, berry picker insight&rdquo, is to learn more about the demand, its structure and factors which influence this demand. Thus, one of the research questions concentrates on the analysis of the sociodemographic characteristics of the berry picker that are relevant for explaining the amount of collected forest berries in the Czech Republic. Knowledge of these factors can contribute to a more effective application of marketing methods for shaping and influencing the demand so that, in terms of time and place, it is more in line with the supply, which is limited by the natural conditions, growing season and production potential of forest ecosystems.

Deforestation is a global threat in the form of the reduction of all of the ecosystem services provided to humans by forest ecosystems. For this reason, this article deals with the protection of forest ecosystem services by searching for a substitute for wood biomass. In recent years, the post-harvest residues of agricultural crops have been used mainly for energy and material uses. If this raw material is to be used industrially in the long term, we must have an idea of its future production. In most studies, predictions of future post-harvest residue productions are resolved in terms of the availability for energy sectors. This paper deals with the total amount of produced post-harvest residues that can be taken from the field, the post-harvest residue production for selected sectors is not subtracted from the overall prediction. Post-harvest residue production was estimated using the residue to product ratio (RPR), wherein the RPR coefficient was calculated for the monitored crops in each year, and the post-harvest residue production was subsequently calculated in each year according to the conversion rate characteristic for each year. The production of two widespread agricultural crops&mdash, wheat and rapeseed&mdash, was predicted. Linear regression models were used for the estimations. Based on these models, we predict the production of 58.3 million tonnes of post-harvest wheat residues and 22.4 million tonnes of post-harvest rapeseed residues in 2030 in the European Union. In the Czech Republic, we predict the production of 1.8 million tonnes of post-harvest wheat residues and 1.3 million tonnes of post-harvest rapeseed residues. The presented results can be used as the basis for further considerations of the material use of post-harvest residues and for the substitution of wood with these residues.

The general objective of the study was to assess the main drivers for visiting the forest and the frequency of the visits in the Czech Republic. A nationwide collection of data of the sociological research as part of The Market &amp, Media &amp, Lifestyle Research Project was carried out every year in the Czech Republic under the licensed cooperation with Kantar Media. The project is unique by the large scope of the questions in the questionnaires and by the high number of respondents. A total of 8794 Czech inhabitants aged 12 years and above from all the regions were involved in the survey in 2018. Information about the socioeconomic and demographic characteristics of all the respondents were obtained. In the closed questions, the respondents reported the frequency of the forest visits and its drivers. The main driver for visiting the forest was just to go for a walk or just to enjoy the outdoors, especially during their holidays or weekends, amounting to 79% of the inhabitants. Meditation and relaxation as well as sport in the forest, were also considered as important motives for forest recreation. On the contrary, 95% of the visitors did not practice game hunting, although game has a long tradition in the Czech Republic. Improvement on managing the forest for recreation should focus on participatory forest management to find a consensus between the public and forest stakeholders. Common decisions may help set up forest recreational goals with positive impacts on forest ecosystem services.

The Czech forests occupy 33.7% of the total country area, thus, wood and non-wood forest products (NWFPs) are important resources for the country. To date, the country has not adopted a forest bioeconomy strategy. A forest bioeconomy is defined as all activities that relate to the forest ecosystem services (FES). This study aimed to provide an initial evaluation regarding the use of forest products and related factors, and to make recommendations on developing wood consumption and promoting other FES for the adoption of a forest bioeconomy strategy in the country. The research study was part of a nationwide survey in June 2019. An online panel of 1050 respondents aged 18&ndash, 65 years old was recruited based on a quota sampling procedure. Wood products were the most preferred material for furniture (96.3%) and building materials (46.3%). In total, 38.6% of Czech residents used wood as a source of energy, mostly in the form of firewood. It is challenging to switch the practice from using fossil-based heating to wood boiler energy source. The further development of wood into products with a high added value is recommended. Picking mushrooms and berries were among the popular activities in relation to NWFPs. The promotion of wood and NWFPs is encouraged, starting with increasing awareness and knowledge of the strength of the forest-based sector as a renewable energy resource and the importance of FES, using different channels as sources of information.

The proclamation of Sumava National Park as a large-scale protected territory in the early 90′s of the 20th century shortly after the change of the political regime in Czechoslovakia resulted in the onset of discussions among different interest groups. The question of the approach to its management has always been controversial because forest ecosystems were essentially modified due to intensive forest management and in particular, the indigenous vegetation with native species composition has been preserved in insignificant residues only. The discussion between supporters of the “non-intervention regime” and supporters of “forestry approaches” is also reflected in reporting of the media, which addresses the public. The authors use media content analysis and framework based on a CIMO logic to find out whether the media and way of reporting can reflect the dynamism of the acting factors, provide feedback to the policy and decision makers and interests groups, and how the media influence the perception of the forestry sector by the public and, in this connection, the communication of foresters with the public and forest policy enforcement.

This paper deals with the possibility of harmonising the needs of society and the possibilities of the forest property manager. The Municipal forest enterprise of the city of Hradec Kr&aacute, lov&eacute, (MLHK) in the Czech Republic (CZ) is an example of this principle, which proves that the intensive development of a recreational service is possible without limiting this principle. The forest enterprise manages 3707 ha of forest in the immediate vicinity of the city with 92,000 inhabitants. The forest enterprise pays the city rent and makes a profit. The data were obtained by analysing the economic data of the surveyed company, the annual observation of the forest attendance, the surveys of the characteristics of the forest visitors and the surveys of selected 16 companies (from seven countries) managing the forests of some European cities. The main results concerning MLHK are as follows: the share of recreational service costs in the total costs of the forestry activities is 19.7%. The recreational services of the forest are financed from 71.5% from revenues from the sale of raw wood, 17.5% from revenues from the sale of sand from its own quarry, 3.9% from revenues from the recreational services and 7.1% from subsidies. The operation of the gravel quarry contributes to the economic result of the forest enterprise roughly by an amount corresponding to the costs of the recreational services. An average annual forest attendance is 243 people/ha. The inhabitants of the city account for 61.5% of the visitors, 20.4% of the visitors live within a distance of up to 30 km, and 18.1% of the visitors live at a distance of more than 30 km. The main results of the survey among the forest enterprises managing the forests of the selected European cities are as follows: the share of costs for the recreational services in the total costs of the forestry activities is 21&ndash, 72% for cities with a population of over 100,000, and 3&ndash, 14% for cities with less than 100,000 inhabitants. As a source of financing recreational services, the forest enterprises from mentioned cities with over 100,000 inhabitants, the money especially came from the city budget (70&ndash, 100%). Forest enterprises from cities under 100,000 inhabitants stated that they fund a recreational service with 95&ndash, 100% of the revenues from the sale of raw wood. Data on the MLHK show that it is possible to finance a recreational forest service from its own resources if this is the owner&rsquo, s priority. However, this only applies under certain conditions, such as that, in addition to the income from forest management, there are other sources of income (in this case, sand mining or subsidies from public programmes). If the forest owner did not have these resources, they would have to pay for the recreational service from their own other resources (e.g., from the city budget).

The political and economic transformations that have taken place since the early nineties in the former socialist countries in Europe have significantly influenced reforms of their forestry institutions. As part of these reforms, restitution processes were initiated with the aim of recognising private ownership of forests and returning forests to their former owners or heirs. Using institutional and actor perspectives, this paper analyses the power relations of the key actors in the restitution processes in three European countries: the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Serbia. The methodological approach combines multiple research methods: document analysis and a literature review to explain the restitution processes, and semi-structured in-depth interviews for analysing the actors' power in this process. The results show that actors' power in the analysed restitution processes varied greatly between actor types and in different phases in the processes. In the initial phase, considerable power was wielded by the public, which demanded change, and by the policy makers, who enabled the necessary legislative changes. As the processes advanced, the power shifted to liable entities who administered the restitution processes. The analysed countries followed different pathways and had varying dynamics throughout their restitution processes due to their diverse historical and political legacies but the power of the respective types of responsible actors did not vary much between analysed countries. While the cases of the Czech Republic and Slovakia are relatively similar, Serbia proves to be different in terms of initial drivers as well as the phases and speed of the process. In the Czech Republic and Slovakia, the result of restitution has been the creation of a large number of small-scale private forest owners, while in Serbia property was given back principally to the church, a large-scale forest owner. These owner categories (small-scale private forest owners and church) were formally recognised as new in all three countries but their specific interests were not adequately translated to existing policy and management documents. The state forestry administration in each country has retained power in the field by continuing its supervisory and regulatory role in forest management. Even though the restitution processes are coming to an end in all analysed post-socialist countries, it can be noted that private forest owners are still under strong state supervision when it comes to forest management rights.

The paper deals with the possibility of using post-harvest crop residues, namely winter wheat straw and winter rapeseed straw for the purpose of producing particleboards. In order to increase particle surface energy, particles were treated with enzymes prior to application of the adhesive; xylanases, pectinase, and a combination of both. The effect of the enzymatic treatment on the properties of the treated particles was monitored and, after the production of the boards, the influence of particle treatment on the mechanical and physical properties of the composites was also monitored. The effect of enzymatic modification on the properties of wheat and rapeseed particles was observed. The enzymes used influenced the particle surface morphology, their surface energy and equilibrium moisture content. Only the combination of pectinase and xylanase (Texazym SER 7) increased the surface energy of wheat surface from 26 mN/m (untreated) to 30 mN/m. The greatest erosion of the surface was achieved by the combination of xylanases and pectinases. After enzymatic treatment both wheat and rapeseed straw exhibited higher equilibrium moisture content. The increase of moisture of wheat straw was from 11.9 %–13.2 % and of rapeseed straw from 12.4 %–13.44 %. Although the selected enzymes had an effect on the properties of the particles, the effect of the enzymatic treatment on the equilibrium moisture, the internal bond strength and the bending characteristics of the produced particleboards were not observed. Produced boards reached low mechanical properties, internal bond strength reached values form to 61–99 mN/mm2.

Due to various factors, there is evidence that there will be a future lack of wood materials in the woodworking and energy sectors, as well as other sectors. This has been confirmed definitively through the most recent developments. Possible solutions include the partial replacement of wood in composite materials by post-harvest remnants of agricultural crops. Unlike wood matter, however, these stems need surface pre-treatment before they can be used to produce composite materials. In this study the effects were compared for two pre-treatments of stems (alkaline and hydrothermal) of rapeseed (Brassica napus L.), maize (Zea mays L.), and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). The effects were compared using the contact angle between water and the surfaces of the stems. Hydrothermal modification yielded a statistically significant reduction in the contact angle between water and the stem surfaces of winter rapeseed and maize; likewise, alkaline modification yielded a statistically significant reduction in the contact angle between water and the stem surface of maize. The possibility of using winter rape to produce composite materials was further evaluated and comprehensively assessed using SWOT analysis.

The article deals with the implementation of an innovation system (IS) in the forestry sector in the Czech Republic. The aim is to analyse characteristics of selected elements (forest owners, forest policy documents, support measures, related institutions) of that system since 2000 and evaluate all three main functions proposed for IS. The conclusion is that the sectoral IS for Czech forestry is established but the IS does not fulfil all three main functions completely — it provides sufficient supportive functions but the information function fulfils only partially and the conflict management function performs poorly.

The restitution and privatization in Central and Eastern European countries in the early 1990s predisposed a heterogeneous ownership structure, a large number of forest owners and a variety of types of property ownership modes. Furthermore, development of governance in these countries posited a new framework for interest representation in the forestry sector, mainly through organised forms of private forest owners, i.e. formation of forest owners’ associations (FOAs). In this region, FOAs were one of the opportunities for interest representation in the land restitution processes. Later on these associations gained more competency and importance not only in influencing forest policy-making, but also in offering services to their members. The aim of the paper is to improve the understanding of the origins, evolution and current situation of FOAs in Central and Eastern Europe by describing the factors that influenced the FOAs’ creation and development. On the basis of their similar history seven Central Eastern European countries were selected for FOAs analysis: Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania and Slovakia. The main findings of the study include that FOAs in Eastern and Central Europe, though being the result of the same socio-political changes, differ between countries in terms of their organisational forms. However, they face similar challenges, including the limited motivation of owners to join associations. Also, they undertake similar activities for their successful development, including the provision of information services for their members. Despite not having any legal competence for the direct management of their member’s forests, these FAOs do have strong representative and demonstrative effects in their countries.

Nowadays, great emphasis is placed on the relationship between forest and water because forests are considered as substantial sources of many water ecosystem services. The aim of this paper is to analyze the stakeholder opinions towards the relationship between forests and water and the potential development of water-related payments for ecosystem services (PES) schemes. The study is developed in the context of COST Action CA15206&ndash, PESFOR-W (Forests for Water) aimed at synthesizing current knowledge about the PES schemes across Europe. The stakeholder opinions were mapped out using a structured questionnaire consisting of 20 questions divided into four thematic sections. The data were collected through an online survey. The results showed opinions of 142 stakeholders from 23 countries, mainly from Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean Basin. In order to analyze the collected data, the stakeholders were grouped in buyers, sellers, intermediaries, and knowledge providers. The survey results indicated that the most important category of water ecosystem services according to our sample of stakeholders is regulating services followed by provisioning services. Further findings pointed out the highest importance that shared values and direct changes in land management can have when designing water-related PES schemes. The role of public authorities and collective collaboration of different stakeholders, with emphasis on local and expert knowledge, are also identified as of crucial importance. The results show that stakeholder opinions can serve as a starting point when designing PES schemes.

Achieving public support and understanding in addressing the challenges of climate change and the bark beetle calamity is a prerequisite for the successful future of Czech forestry. The most important instrument for achieving public support is communication. To be effective, this communication has to be built on a communication strategy reflecting the long-term goals of forest policy and has to be based on both current analyses and other relevant information, which, in turn, is based on the research results of the public perception of the forests and forestry. This article deals with the results of current research studies and formulates conclusions in relation to this communication strategy. Among other things, these results indicate the willingness of a large part of the public to actively participate in voluntary assistance to forestry, markedly differing opinions among individual groups on forest functions, and rather below-average interest in information concerning forests and forestry.

The article presents a comparison of EAFRD support for afforestation of agricultural land (managed succession) in the years of 2007–2013 and model costs required to compensate for both operational inputs and agricultural income forgone when establishing woodland on agricultural land in the Czech Republic. The aim was to investigate whether the blanket support rates for the afforestation of agricultural land are sufficient to cover the associated costs in a wide range of site conditions. Costs were calculated for 43 groups based on forest typology. The calculation was based on the comparison of present costs and present revenues (here: European fund support) with the discount rate of 3% and a 15-year evaluation period. The analysis demonstrated that input costs vary considerably in the different forest typologies; 44% of groups show higher present costs than the support rates currently available. In the most expensive group costs are 150% higher than even an increased support rate in less favoured areas available to agricultural entrepreneurs, and almost 200% in comparison with the basic support rate. In several cases – and always in case of pine management – the support payments are notably higher than the related input costs, and because of that the land owner might be strongly motivated to change the land use from agriculture to forestry. The article points out the sensitivity of the results to the discount rate used and to the importance of the CZK/Euro exchange rate fluctuation. The analysis’ results lead us to strongly encourage a more substantial differentiation of the support rates for afforestation of agricultural, and other, land. This differentiation should be based on realistic input costs according to forest typology – the methodology of which might be relevant in several other EU countries.

This literature review deals with the understanding of ecosystem services related to the question of their applicability and appropriate methods for their valuation. We distinguish between ecological valuation methods that aim to assess the significance of landscape characteristics, conventional economic, i.e. monetary valuation and non-monetizing valuation or assessment. Ecological evaluation methods derive values by following a cost of production approach which neglects consumer preferences. Economic valuation methods focus on the exchange value of ecosystem services, i.e. they are based on consumer preferences, but do not adequately take into account the complex internal structure of ecosystems. We conclude that – from the view of implementation of ecosystem services for policy support and consulting – successful valuation approaches should particularly consider the relationships between economic, ecological and social aspects of ecosystem services’ provision.