Zuzana Sarvašová

Forest Owners Associations in the Central and Eastern European Region

Abstract 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.

Forest Naturalness: Criterion for Decision Support in Designation and Management of Protected Forest Areas

The article analyses the possibilities of developing an integrated indicator and a model of the assessment of forests naturalness using the data from the database of mountainous spruce forests situated in the Western Carpathians of Slovakia. The article presents two variants of such a model, one based on discriminant analysis, while the second one using an additive approach. The analysis of the data from mountainous spruce forests revealed significant indicators of forest naturalness degree: the arithmetic mean of the ratio between crown length and tree height, the deadwood volume, the coverage of grasses, the coverage of mosses and lichens, and the aggregation index. In addition, the coefficient of variation of tree diameters was included in the final model, since its presence in the model had a positive influence on the correctness of the classification of the forest naturalness degree. The correctness of the classification of the proposed discriminant model was 74.5%. For the additive model, the ranges of the values of the integrated indicator were defined for every degree of forest naturalness by taking into account the error ranges of the arithmetic mean values and the percentiles of the values in individual degrees of forest naturalness. The overall correctness of the classification with the additive model was 63.4%. In the second step, the scheme how to apply the classification model of the forest naturalness degree in the decision-making process of designating as a forest protected areas was proposed. In this scheme, the degree of forest naturalness is considered as a basic criterion for the determination of nature-conservation value of forest ecosystems. As further decision-making criteria we identified the possibility to restore, or the possibility to improve the naturalness of less natural forest ecosystems, which are designated as protected; the occurrence of the endangered species; and the occurrence of other natural values.

Perceptions of Forest Owners and the General Public on the Role of Forests in Slovakia

Abstract During the past decades, the awareness of environmental issues in forest management is increasing due to changes in environmental education. The perceptions of forests, sustainable management, and ecosystem services were studied through two surveys. The general public and forest owners were the two target groups. The questionnaires had similar questions, though two different methodological approaches were used - the CATI system, for general public opinion survey, and semi-structured questionnaires for forest owners. The second survey contained more detailed questions regarding forest properties. Combined answers from 1503 respondents from the general public and 150 forest owners were evaluated on the following topics: sustainable forestry, major ecosystem services, and perceptions of forests. The majority of the Slovakian public regards ecological values as the most important element, whereas forest owners prefer the economic purposes for the maintenance and enhancement of forests. Forest owners tend to visit their forests once per week, whereas the general public tend to visit only once per month. The main cause for this non-attendance in the general public was a lack of recreational time, followed by a disinterest in forests. The main purpose for visiting forests for both groups was recreation. Overall, it can be concluded that people are mostly satisfied with forest management in Slovakia. Forest owners are satisfied with their forest properties, and plan to keep them for their children. In the future, more attention should be focused on investigating the younger generation’s perception of forests.

Ecosystem Services - Examples of Their Valuation Methods in Czech Republic and Slovakia

Abstract 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.

Concept of the integrative aspects of the forest ecosystem services with case study on recreation services assessment in Slovakia

IntroductionThis paper presents basic information on the research, classification, and application of the functions of tree species and their communities (mainly forest) in Slovakia. The main aim is a scientific assessment of acquired knowledge regarding the functional effects of forests under real ecological, forest management and socio-economic conditions from various regions in Slovakia; the most up-to-date findings concerning the ecology and economics of natural resources will be applied here. The second part of the paper presents methodological possibilities for valuation of outdoor recreation in forests. Different methods and methodological approaches suitable to a valuation of recreation based on various principles and criteria (preference and non-preference methods, cost-based methods, revenue-based methods, and direct and indirect methods) are analyzed. A practical application of one indirect preference method (travel cost method) is made to evaluate outdoor recreation in forests in Slovakia.Results and conclusionsA new classification system and a methodology of integrative utilization of forest functions for the forest ecosystem services are constructed. Outdoor recreation in forests, besides recreational forests and areas, assumes the character of a public good: its use by individuals has some influence on utilization by other individuals, and single users cannot be excluded from its utilization. Therefore, some stimulation for its production is missing. In principle, there are no markets for these kinds of public goods and services. The total value of outdoor recreation in forests in Slovakia amounted to €163.4 million; if opportunity time costs were included, this amounted to as much as €825.7 million.

Close to Nature Management in High-Mountain Forests of Norway Spruce Vegetation Zone in Slovakia

The Slovak Republic is one of the most forested countries in Europe. Forest covers about 20,000 km2 (41%) of the total area of the country, a substantial part of which is occupied by the mountains of the Carpathian Arch (highest peak: Gerlachovsky Peak, 2655 m). Forests in Slovakia have commercial functions as well as functions of benefit to the public, for example: timber production, water management, soil erosion control, avalanche control, nature conservation, tourism, and aesthetic value. Many rivers that are important for neighbouring countries spring from the Slovak mountains; Slovakia is therefore sometimes called the roof of Central Europe.