Value of forest resources in Poland

Paper concerns the valuation of forests under all forms of ownership on the basis of the first stage of the Large−Scale Forest Inventory completed in 2009. The total value of Polish forest resources (land and stands) at the end of 2008 amounted to nearly PLN 189 billion, of which 80% was the value of the forest resources available for wood supply. Forest resources of the highest value (PLN 145 billion), including those under the management of the State Forests (PLN 137 billion) are the property of the Treasury. Timber resources account for 85% of the value of forest resources, while the remaining share includes forestland resources (PLN 29 billion). Basing on the obtained results, the average value of forests in Poland is about 21,000 PLN/ha

The recreational functions of Warsaw's urban and suburban forests

To research attitudes to urban and suburban forests, a questionnaire was given to the random sample of 500 Warsaw residents. The most important factors identified by respondents included unlimited accessibility of urban forests as well as their proximity to urban areas. The main forest recreational activities expected by Warsaw residents were longer walks, natural silence and calm, also the absence of litter. A few respondents were receptive to the idea of managed forests as well as natural forests, if improving the quality of recreation is no taken into account. Respondents were willing to be taxed at 52 PLN/person/year in order to receive the desired level of non-timber forest functions in urban forests. Like residents of other regions of Poland, the respondents specified that the protection of air quality and protection of the natural environment are the most important non-timber forest functions. Among the most frequently visited forests located within the borders of Warsaw city are forests close to Choszczówka, Bielański forest and the forest in Koło, which receive respectively 251, 204 and 162 visitors/ha/day. The management of recreational resources in urban forests is expected to be diverse and adapted to the preferences of visitors

The commons - the traditional form of collective forestland management

The term 'common' does not denote an association of people, as Polish civil law defines it as a joint land property with specific characteristics. In a certain simplification we can say that it is the title of the inhabitants of a given locality to use a common land only because they are its inhabitants. The commons are today the last form of collective land management – a relic of the feudal past, when property was understood differently than it is today. The term 'common' in the historical context refers to ‘a group of people of common origin, traditions, values, etc. or linked with a common interest or property' [Bańko 2005]. The first commons were established in the period of royal land grants; the history of the oldest of them dates back to the 14th century. A second wave of commons took place during Poland's partition [Jastrzebski 1963]. Therefore, the history of the majority of commons dates back to the 19th century where the process of liquidation of feudal property took place. On the basis of the information obtained from 81% of the communes, there were 1,588 commons (farmlands, farmlands−forestlands or forestlands) in 13 provinces and in 158 counties in Poland. Management on all the inventoried commons cover 81,875.43 ha, including 48,339.17 ha of forests. According to the GUS statistics, 67,000 ha of forests (just 4.6% of the total area of private forests) are under common management [Zając et al. 2004]. The article presents distribution of regional commons, their general area characteristics and structure of the utilized lands, as well as selected elements characterising forest management on those lands

Selected aspects of the forest recreational function in view of its users

The results of a survey conducted in several Promotional Forest Complexes (PFC) in the Śląskie and Podlaskie regions, as well as the urban forests in Łódź and Warsaw, indicate that visitor preferences vary among forest sites. Those forests where visitors prefer to rest should be located in forests designated for recreation, and include elements of recreational infrastructure. Depending on characteristics of the forest in question (seaside, lakeside, or mountains), respondents preferred forest located near to the water's edge, whereas in mountainous areas they selected open places (roads and openings). Urban residents more commonly chose sites deep within the forest, while hikers selected forest edges. The desired recreational infrastructure, included garbage cans and hiking trails as the most important elements among city dwellers, while hikers pointed to rest areas and information boards. The respondents consistently agreed on the type of recreational activities conducted in forests as well as on type of elements which determine the attractiveness of forests for rest and recreation. Independently of site characteristics and the research location, the most common activities for respondents were hiking and riding bicycle; and attractive elements were silence and calm as well as cleanliness of the forests. The Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) was used to evaluate respondents' Willingness to Pay (WTP) for intensification of selected public forest functions and forest management, including recreational functions. The number of respondents who declared a hypothetical monetary amount or WTP>0 depended on the place where research was conducted (forest or respondent's home); forest area covered by financing (forests in general or local forests where respondents reside); the type of question used to obtain the information on WTP; as well as the scope of financing (all public forest functions or just a recreational function). The average WTP declared per household per year varied from 41 PLN in 2002 to 150 PLN in 2006 for selected forest areas. The average overall state statistics for WTP was 52 PLN (non-timber forest functions in municipality) and 41 PLN (recreational management of forests in municipality). The respondents also underlined that the goods and services provided should be co-financed from both state and local budgets, and that such financing should go directly to the organizations conducting forest management

Usability of the tourist trails and infrastructure elements according to the nationwide public opinion survey

The objective of the article is to present different types of tourist routes and infrastructure elements preferred by the society basing on the results of the nationwide survey, which was conducted in 2013 on a representative sample of 1000 individuals over the age of 18. The sample was of random−amount character. Respondents evaluated the usability of several types of tourist objects (routes and paths) as well as different devices constituting their equipment. The survey also included the question which allowed the evaluation of usability of 10 infrastructure elements, which increase the quality of leisure in forests. Statistical analyses included General Line Model (GLM) or ANOVA and post−hoc comparisons with Tukey HSD test. In case of equivocal results of analyses, data was retested with PCA, which was selected upon checking the length of gradient with DCA. Data was analyzed with regard to the respondents' age, education and material status. The most desirable routes turned out to be walking trails and hiking routes (fig. 1). Results indicate that the most useful infrastructure objects include waste bins and information boards, while the least usable are playsets for children and fitness equipment (fig. 4). The most useful infrastructure elements are: signs and then ex aequo: car parks, places for animal observation, rest facilities and viewpoints, and the least needed: children's playgrounds, rope parks, and paintball sites

Preferred type of forest stand and factors deciding about the tourist attractiveness of the forest

The objective of the paper is to analyse the social preferences to the type of the forest stand and factors deciding about the tourist attractiveness of the forest. Data was collected during the nationwide surveys carried out in 2013 on the random representative sample of 1000 respondents above 18 years of age. The surveyed persons do not indicate strong preferences for deciduous or coniferous forest stands. The analysis of preferences for different types of forest stands with regard to respondents' sex did not confirm the importance of differences. Instead they suggest that respondents of different age tend to change their preferences with time – from broadleaved forest (the youngest respondents) to coniferous forest. Respondents in poor financial standing choose deciduous forest and mixed broadleaved forest, and people in good and very good financial standing – a coniferous forest stand, or rather a mixed one. What makes a forest stand attractive is mostly the forest's appearance and the nature along with the abundance of species, and the least, the presence of water or culture and historic sites. The older the respondents are, the more they appreciate silence and relaxation far from other people, as well as nature along with its abundance of fruits and fungi to be collected, while the least important is the diversity of land. Respondents with higher education (university degree) indicate the availability of land and the presence of waters as the most important features which decide of the attractiveness of forest, whereas people with the lowest education level – nature along with its abundance of species and the forest appearance. Respondents, who are in the best financial situation declare the appearance and the presence of lakes and rivers (features related to leisure), to be the most important factors which decide about tourist attractiveness of forest, and people in poor and very poor financial situation indicated: nature along with the abundance of species, availability of forest, places related to culture and religion, nature reserves, and tourist infrastructure

Wartość wodochronnej funkcji lasów

The majority of forest characteristics related to a broadly understood water-protecting function of forests are the natural attribute of forest ecosystems. However, there are water-protecting forests and other woodlands whose natural ability to regulate water relations is intensified on account of public interest or forest management needs (costs are incurred to improve the quality and/or quantity of forests). In any of the above-mentioned cases, there is a need, particularly for the State Treasury-owned forests administered by the State Forests National Forest Holding (SF NFH), though for different reasons, to assess the value of water-protecting forest ecosystems. A Contingent Valuation Method (CVM), or conditional valuation creating a quasi-market, enables in social surveys to assess and then valuate practically any kind of services forests provide to society, including the water-protecting one. The estimates made on the basis of the research conducted by the Forest Research Institute (IBL) in Warsaw using the CVM show that the value of this function is approx. PLN 86 million, or 9.40 PLN·ha-¹ ·year-¹. The value obtained with the CVM appears to be over 10-fold lower than the value calculated on the basis of the costs of alternative goods having the attributes comparable to those of forest ecosystems. The IBL calculations taking exclusively into account the hydrological characteristics of forests indicate that their value set on the basis of the costs of construction and exploitation of retention reservoirs amounts to PLN 982 million (109.5 PLN·ha-¹ ·year-¹). The water-protecting function of forests was found to be even more valuable using Marszałek's Relative Utility Value Method (WWU) in which the water-protecting function value for some part of protective forests serving this function was PLN 1177 million (805 PLN·ha-¹ ·year-¹ in the forests under the management of the SFNFH and 146 PLN·ha-¹ ·year-¹ in private forests). The differences in the obtained findings are first of all the effect of divergent theoretical foundations and methodological assumptions of the presented valuation methods. Therefore, the attempts at implementing the selected social functions of forests in forest practice should be done with much prudence. It can be assumed that at the present stage of development of valuation methods, when research results arise many doubts, the decision to adopt any of the calculated values is a political one taken at national level or in exceptional cases when economic agreements are made - at regional level. In the case of the public functions of forests, including water-protecting one, only this type of solutions may lead to the optimal regulation of the quality and quantity of this type of services.Często dzieje się jednak tak, że w określonych warunkach, ze względu na charakterystykę otoczenia społeczno-ekonomicznego lub uwarunkowania przyrodnicze, gospodarka leśna musi intensyfikować ilość i/lub jakość publicznych świadczeń lasu, ponosząc koszty ich realizacji. W takich przypadkach z ekonomicznego punktu widzenia należałoby się zastanowić, jaki jest bilans kosztów-korzyści takich działań, innymi słowy ustalić sumaryczną wartość nakładów oraz rzeczywistych lub potencjalnych korzyści (benefis-cost analysis) podjętych zabiegów. Na podstawie takiego rachunku, w którym niezbędnym elementem jest wartość publicznych świadczeń gospodarki leśnej, można ustalić ekonomiczną efektywność podjętych przedsięwzięć. W prezentowanej publikacji przedstawiono założenia teoretyczne oraz metodyczne, jak również wyniki wyceny wartości wodochronnej funkcji lasu z wykorzystaniem dwóch metod wyceny: metody CVM (Contingent Valuation Metod) - metody wyceny warunkowej), która nawiązuje w swoich założeniach metodycznych do teorii użyteczności krańcowej, metody prof. Marszałka - względnej wartości użytkowej (WWU), która należy do tzw. wskaźnikowych metod wartościowania. Wartość wodochronnych świadczeń lasu, oszacowana z wykorzystaniem metody CVM, wyniosła ponad 86 mln zł. Przeliczając wartość wodochronnej funkcji lasu na jednostkę powierzchni lasów (8 864,8 tys. ha - 2000 r.), jeden hektar lasu dostarcza świadczeń wodochronnych o wartości 9,40 zł. Jeśli uwzględnimy tylko powierzchnię lasów państwowych, zarządzanych przez PGL LP (6 953,0 tys. ha - Leśnictwo 2001), wartość wzrosłaby do 12,37 zł·ha-¹ ·rok -¹. Jeśli natomiast zostałaby uwzględniona tylko powierzchnia lasów wodochronnych (1 155 tys. ha - Leśnictwo 2001), wartość tego rodzaju świadczeń wyniosłaby 74,41 zł·ha-¹ ·rok-¹. W metodzie WWU wartość wodochronnych świadczeń lasów (w lasach PGL LP oraz w lasach prywatnych) wyniosła 1 177 mln zł - 684 zł·ha-¹ ·rok-¹ (tylko lasy wodochronne). Ze względu na duże różnice wartości produkcji surowca drzewnego w lasach państwowych oraz w lasach prywatnych wystąpiła również duża różnica w wartości świadczeń wodochronnych. W lasach państwowych wartość funkcji wodochronnej wyniosła 805 zł·ha-¹ ·rok-¹, natomiast w lasach prywatnych tylko 146 zł·ha-¹ ·rok-¹. Przedstawione wyliczenia są wartościami szacunkowymi, choć obrazują znaczenie ekonomiczne funkcji wodochronnej. Zastosowane metody mają odmienne podstawy teoretyczne oraz metodyczne, dlatego też uzyskane wyniki są zróżnicowane, choć powinny być zbliżone, ponieważ określone dobro w danej chwili i określonych warunkach posiada jedną wartość. Jest to z pewnością duża niedogodność stosowanych metod, choć jej źródło nie tkwi w samych metodach, lecz w cechach publicznych dóbr i usług lasu i gospodarki leśnej

Aspects of using wood biomass for energy production

This article presents the most important aspects relevant to forest-derived biomass utilization for the purposes of energy production by professional energy providers. The issues discussed here are divided into four groups: environmental, social, economic and technological aspects of biomass utilization in energy production. The environmental part focuses on the effects of intensive use of leftovers from timber harvest on forest ecosystems as well as the problem of ash utilization. Economic and social problems include the costs of energy production from timber, consequences of intensified fuel wood demand for the state of the timber and paper industry as well as the impact on the labor market. The technology section of the article covers questions related to the harvest and transport of forest-derived biomass. We conclude that, before regarding it as an energy source, wood should be mainly used for the production of timber due to the necessity and difficulty of considering all of the above-mentioned diverse aspects of energy production. Wood should be used for the production of energy only after its usage as timber products and their recycling

Value of leisure-related function of forest in view of the results of nationwide survey in Poland

Driven by social and economic changes, which have taken place for the last 30 years, the European forest management objectives have been redefined. By the action of public opinion, forest management, increasingly frequently and in a broader range, focuses on public benefits from forests. One of the most important functions is the possibility of leisure and recreation in the forest. The purpose of the research was the analysis of the hypothetical readiness to finance the leisure−related function of forest based on WTP (Willingness To Pay) amount. A question, which enabled the assessment of a social value of leisure−related function of forest, was asked to a random−quota sample of 1000 people over 18 years of age during the nationwide survey carried out in 2013 by TNS Polska. Out of 1000 respondents, the WTP>0 was declared by 29% respondents. Surveyed persons indicating forest with poorer infrastructure declared higher values calculated per household (PLN 13.59 ±0.84) than respondents who selected a better managed forest (PLN 12.86 ±0.88, PLN 12.91 ±1.46). The average WTP amount per person for respondents with the university degree (bachelor and master degree) was PLN 6.23 ±0.48, whereas for respondents with lower education, it was on the level of PLN 5.26 ±0.25. The average WTP also depended on the age of respondents. It was PLN 11.42 ±1.43 for 20−year−olds per family, whereas for 40−year−olds it was PLN 14.16 ±1.05. The average WTP per person increased along with the age of respondents; from PLN 4.37 ±0,42 (20−year−olds) to PLN 6.00 ±1.11 (80−year−olds). Disregarding the top WTP value per household of respondents in the worst financial situation (20.00 ±10.00), the average WTP value per household increased from PLN 10.26 ±1.69 (in poor financial situation) to PLN 14.55 ±2.97 (very well−off)