Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
As was once true worldwide - and is still the case
today in many developing countries of Africa, Latin
America and Asia - throughout Europe up to the nine-
teenth century wood, charcoal and timber were essen-
tial resources for the survival of humans and for
economic development (establishing coppice forests).
Timber and wood were used for the construction of
houses, bridges and ships, and as energy supplies for
domestic heating and cooking, the fabrication of furni-
ture, instruments, utensils and fences, and various
early industrial purposes. Additionally, forest land was
used as grazing ground for cattle, goats and sheep, and
as a source of nutrients for arable fi elds (e.g. litter
raking). Consequently, human pressure on forests
was extremely high and more or less anarchic. Forest
area decreased rapidly to the point where, in central
Europe for example, less than 20% remained by the
Middle Ages (Bork
et al
. 1998), and the remaining
forest stands became more and more devastated and
transformed.
The fi rst recorded attempts to restore and improve
devastated forests worldwide were carried out in the
fourteenth century: the oldest managed forest of the
world is the
N ΓΌ rnberger Reichswald
in southern Ger-
many (Sperber 1968). Nevertheless, for the next
several centuries, forest utilization usually meant forest
plundering. It was only in the early eighteenth century
that Hans Carl von Carlowitz (1645-1714), member
of the administration of the mining industry in
Freiberg-Saxony and responsible for timber produc-
tion, realized that only with well-planned forest
management could timber production be maintained
sustainably. In his topic
Sylvicultura oeconomica
, the
fi rst textbook on silviculture, von Carlowitz (1713)
wrote, 'We have to make every effort in science and
forest practice to fi nd methods for protection and pro-
duction of timber so that permanent sustainable utili-
zation can be realized' (translated from German).
Apparently, this was the fi rst time that the approach
was presented in a textbook and the term 'sustainable'
explicitly used.
Since the middle of the eighteenth century, regu-
lated forest management has been introduced into
many parts of Europe. Scots pine (
Pinus sylvestris
) and
Norway spruce (
Picea abies
) produce huge quantities of
seeds that are easy to harvest, transport and handle in
tree nurseries. They are easy to regenerate, grow quite
well even on poor or devasted soils and produce high
wood volume with many uses. Today these two tree
species make up about three quarters of the temperate
forests in central Europe, whereas the natural potential
of the deciduous trees would be three quarters Euro-
pean beech and other deciduous tree species, with only
one quarter conifers (Figure 12.3 ).
Many characteristics of today's managed forests,
such as canopy closure, stand structure, and microcli-
mate, are closer to those of the natural forest stands of
the past than what prevailed during recent centuries
Recent
Pseudo
PNV
Ld
Pseudo
Ps
Misc.
Ld
Misc.
Aa
Fs
Qrp
Ap
Cb
Fe
Ps
Pa
Fe
Cb
Aa
Ap
Qrp
Fs
Pa
Figure 12.3
Tree species composition according to PNV (left-hand diagram) and recent vegetation (right-hand diagram) for
Bavaria/Germany. Diagrams are based on data from Walentowski and Gulder (2001). Deciduous trees: Fs,
Fagus sylvatica
;
Qrp,
Quercus robur
and
Quercus petraea
; Ap,
Acer pseudoplatanus
; Cb,
Carpinus betulus
; Fe,
Fraxinus excelsior
. Coniferous trees:
Pa,
Picea abies
; Aa,
Abies alba
; Ps,
Pinus sylvestris
; Ld,
Larix decidua
; Pseudo,
Pseudotsuga menziesii
. Misc., miscellaneous.
