Forests and sylviculture on a third of the earth

Solymos, Rezsõ

Keywords: forest communities, forestation, sylviculture, forest functions, productivity

Forests are the determinant creators of our earth’s living world. Forest communities, which play a determinant role in the survival and well-being of mankind and many living creatures, cover nearly a third of the world. The forestation of individual continents varies and follows changing goals. A significant change of attitude, which began in the 20th century, can be expected in the 21st century, namely: the well-being, environmental protection and social role of forests will assume priority over the previous primacy of logging. Despite this, wood will still be present in the world economy as a significant, environmentally friendly raw material. At the turn of the millennium, approximately 14 million hectares of the world’s forests were being logged per annum, and 5 million hectares of new forests were planted. In line with this, forest area decreased by 9 million hectares per annum. The role of forests and the significance of sylviculture are growing in both Europe and Hungary. Hungary’s sustainable sylviculture directives are coming into their own. The productivity and biodiversity of our forests are more favourable than the European average. It can be expected that with EU support, Hungary’s forestation will increase in the first half of the 21st century. The role of forestry science and research is key to the standard of our sylviculture and the continuous, sustainable development of our forests’ versatile utilisation.

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