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Sustainability reporting is constantly paid attention by companies for its economic, environmental and social benefits. It supports making use of the wide potential for further development of enterprises and society. Individual sectors use types of indicators that correspond to their specifics. It is also the case of the forestry sector, which is especially characterized by a number of non-market outputs. However, we can find also other specific indicators that are relevant to forest management. The paper proposes indicators for sustainability reporting, which are not part of usual methodologies. These indicators will contribute not only to the formal preparation of sustainability reporting, but so that its benefits would be of significant influence on the development of forest enterprises and the forestry sector using its potential in all areas.

Understanding of the basic determinants of cooperation among private forest owners is of crucial importance to forest owners, private forest owners' cooperatives and other key players in the forest sector. This topic concerns complementary empirical and theoretical studies from the fields of economics and social studies. A recent study shows that private forest owners differ in their attitudes towards forest management and processes of cooperation in terms of the time perspective and, correspondingly, make different decisions in various situations related to forest management. Based on the data from two surveys, this paper shows how private forest owners' views of forest management in Lithuania have developed over the last thirteen years and finds some basic socio-economic aspects that drive cooperation among private forest owners for joint forest management.

Cut-to-length technology represents a modern forest logging technology characterized by high performance, efficiency, productivity and work safety. At the same time it is friendly to forest ecosystems. Both acquisition and operating costs of harvester units are high, which requires their year-round utilization. The aim of this paper was to analyse shift time consumptions and thus analyse the common harvester and forwarder work shift. In 2015-2016 we collected time snapshots of harvesters and forwarders of various performance categories and from different production conditions throughout the Czech Republic. Consequently the analysis of work shift time with respect to unit, batch and shift times was conducted. The average duration of a harvester's work shift was 623 min, out of which operational time amounted to 73.6%. In forwarders the average shift took 520 min, with operational time representing 71.2%. In the course of the analysis and statistical data processing, all the remaining shift times which constitute an average harvester and forwarder work shift were quantified in detail. Work shift utilization ranged from 86.1 to 95.3%.

Identification of the species for dendrochronological studies is of great relevance to understand various aspects of climate change. However, in the northwestern Himalayan region, dendroclimatological investigations are confined to conifer species, with broadleaved species being disregarded. Thus, the present study was conducted to assess the growth response of seven multipurpose tree species (MPTs), namely Bauhinia variegata, Celtis australis, Grewia optiva, Paulownia fortunei, Toona ciliata, Ulmus villosa and Melia composita to local climate variables, viz. temperature as well as rainfall (seasonal, monthly, average) and CO2 level by evaluating the climatic signal in tree ring chronologies at Solan district, India (altitude 1 250 m) in the mid-hills of the northwestern Himalayas. The results indicated that only the maximum, rainy season temperature and CO2 level varied significantly (P < 0.05) between 1991 and 2017. Only G. optiva exhibited a significant (P < 0.05) tendency toward increased growth. C. australis has a remarkable negative correlation with temperature variables, viz. average, maximum, spring season, March temperature, whereas T. ciliata exhibits a positive correlation with temperature variables, such as rainy season, average and April temperature. Similarly, winter, total and December rainfall have a profound effect on P. fortunei, while March rainfall adversely affected the growth of B. variegata. On the other hand, G. optiva demonstrated sensitivity to both temperature (February and May) and rainfall variables (winter, February and May). U. villosa recorded a positive correlation with rainfall (autumn and October rainfall) but a negative correlation with temperature variables (maximum and April temperature). Elevated CO2 levels affected only two species (G. optiva, M. composita) out of the seven selected species. Our findings will contribute to a better understanding of the climate growth relationships of investigated tree species, as a result, to more accurate projections of the effects of climate change on these MPTs and directing future studies.

Vegetation dynamics, soil properties, and the correlation between them following a wildfire are crucial to understanding the recovery of forest (natural or planted forest) ecosystems. We compared species composition and soil properties in two burned (Br) and unburned (UBr) sites of loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) stand in Northern Iran. We detected 39 plant species including 22 (56.4%) species that were common in both sites, 13 (33.3%) species specifically in the Br site, and 4 (10.3%) species specifically in the UBr site. Although species abundance was significantly higher in the UBr site, species richness was significantly higher in the Br site. Species composition was significantly different (F = 16.25, P-value = 0.001) between Br and UBr sites. Rarefaction-extrapolation revealed consistently and significantly higher species diversity in Br site compared to UBr site for all three Hill numbers. Only sand (t = 2.23, P-value = 0.030), pH (t = 2.44, P-value = 0.018) and electrical coductivity (t = 2.98, P-value = 0.004) were significantly higher (P-value ≤ 0.05) in the Br site due to the demobilization of base cations in burnt vegetation. In the Br site, the wildfire did not cause any marked changes in C and N stocks.

The city longhorn beetle (Aeolesthes sarta) (CLB) (Coleoptera - Cerambycidae) is a polyphagous invasive pest of both healthy and suppressed broadleaved trees in central Asia. CLB causes a great degree of damage in the countries of its origin. To understand this pest in a better way, a detailed review study has been conducted to gather all the valuable information related to the CLB. This review study covers the main aspects of the CLB, its morphology, ecology, distribution, damage, and control measures. The life span of the CLB is two years. It is mainly distributed in the central Asian countries and preferably damages broadleaved tree species, especially Juglans regia, Populus alba, P. euphratica, Acer spp, Salix alba, S. babylonica, Malus pumila, M. sylvestris, Platanus orientalis and Ulmus spp. Effective control and management practices include cutting, removing + burning of infested trees, cultivating high resilient tree species, use of biocontrol agents (i.e. fungus), and use of aluminium phosphide as a pesticide to significantly help control the CLB population. A CLB invasion in a new favourable habitat could impose a serious threat to broadleaf forests and plantations. Therefore, the keen monitoring and surveying of woodland management techniques are recommended. The strict monitoring and inspection of traded wood material at airports and seaports are highly recommended. There is a need to conduct multiple research studies to profoundly understand the CLB phenology, ecology, transportation mode, and damage severity to bridge the gap.

This study was embarked upon to assess forest guards' Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) behavioural change sequences in Nigeria lowland forest reserves using a structural equation modelling approach. Two research questions were raised and corresponding hypotheses were tested. From the data analysed, it was revealed that both knowledge and attitude variables significantly predicted the behaviour of the forest guards' towards the management of the forest and its resources. Although the attitude variable on its own did not significantly predict the forest guards' behaviours (t = 1.401, P > 0.05), it can be stated that the knowledge of the forest guards towards the forest is a better predictor to their environmental behaviours and their behavioural change sequence (AKP) is inclined towards developing affinity to the forest. Hence seminar and symposiums should be organized for all forest guards with the objectives of having better efforts and persistence, preparation for action, better visualization of success, reduce stressors, and fewer intrusive negative thoughts in managing the forest and its resources. This will help boost their affinity to the forest and self-efficacy as the study revealed that the Attitude-Knowledge-Practice (AKP) sequence explains better the behaviour of the forest guards in protecting the forest reserves.

Almost 24% of the Ukrainian Carpathian ecosystems are assigned to the conservation fund due to their ecological values and attraction to numerous tourists. The forest litter in mountain forest stands plays an important role in terms of its ability to mitigate the impact of tourist activities, and erosion processes along with its contribution to the soil mineralization. Water interception, infiltration, and retention ability of forest litter have an impact on hydrological processes of forest ecosystems. At the same time, the accumulation and spatial distribution of litter can be affected not only by environmental conditions, but also by tourism. In this study, 13 Norway spruce (Picea abies L.) stands distinguished by average distance to the trail were chosen to investigate whether there are any differences in litter structure, water retention, and infiltration abilities as well as litter accumulation in areas along popular hiking trails in the Ukrainian Carpathians. Results showed that the litter thickness has increased with altitude and slope steepness. Moreover, results of one-way ANOVA demonstrate a significant difference (P < 0.05) in litter stock between two groups of sample plots: established directly to adjoin hiking trails and at a distance. Therefore, the forest litter stock nearby hiking trails may indicate that trampling caused by tourists has a negative impact on litter accumulation. However, no statistical difference was found (P > 0.05) in the accumulation of litter along three trails and altitudes across all surveyed forest stands. Results of the immersion test showed that the litter infiltration rate has a significant negative correlation with the maximum mass of absorbed water (r = -0.62, P < 0.05), litter stock (r = -0.69, P < 0.01), and retained precipitation (r = -0.62, P < 0.05). Despite our assumption, the infiltration rate was lower for sites distanced from the hiking trail in comparison with adjoining ones. According to our measurements, the water holding capacity of the litter varies from 42.3 t.ha^-1 to 187.3 t.ha^-1 regardless of the stand composition. Further, the precipitation amount retained by litter varies between 4.2 mm and 18.7 mm. Insignificant differences in litter fractional structure and accumulation were observed in pure spruce stands and mixed spruce-beech with an admixture of beech up to 20%. Further observational and modelling studies are necessary to clarify the role of the beech share in stand composition in relation to fractional structure and water interception and retention ability.

Pinus pseudostrobus Lindl. is a species endemic to Mexico and is widely used in reforestation programmes, as it is highly adapted to poor, shallow, limestone soils and has high commercial importance. However, it is necessary to preserve this genetic material since it is in trouble due to high rates of deforestation, land use change, and forest fires, so it is necessary to have effective strategies to obtain good quality seedlings. Due to the properties of LED (light emitting diode) lamps used for illumination in the production of in vitro plants, the effects of two different lighting systems (LED and fluorescent) on an in vitro culture were analysed for the morphological characteristics of the growth and photosynthetic pigment content in P. pseudostrobus seedlings. The length and root size of the seedlings were affected by the type of illumination, where a red LED light was the most effective at 30 days of evaluation. However, a blue LED light was equally effective as a red LED light at 60 days of seedling development. On the other hand, the fluorescent light was better in terms of the number of needles in the first stage, but we found the blue LED light to be better in the second stage. For the photosynthetic pigment content, the highest values were found with the blue LED light. The results showed that the LED lighting system favours the growth, development, and photosynthetic pigment content of the species under study.

Juglans pyriformis Liebm. (Juglandaceae) is a threatened and endemic tree that grows in the cloud forest of Mexico. Natural populations of this species have been reduced due to, among others, changes in land use, overexploitation, and logging, with probable effects on its genetic diversity and structure. To determine the levels of variation and genetic structure of two populations with different silvicultural regimes, six inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) primers were used to amplify DNA from 35 individuals from a high-logging population and 32 from a low-logging population. The results show a higher polymorphism in the low-logging population (81.5%) compared to the high-logging population (77.4%). The genetic differentiation coefficient (PhiPT) values (0.109), genetic distance (0.134) and STRUCTURE analysis (Fst = 0.2271, P = 0.04) show significant genetic differentiation between populations. Rare, private, and monomorphic bands were detected in both populations. These results confirm the trend of reduced genetic variation due to logging.

The strong market competition forces forest owners to find innovative approaches to forest management, and business models are becoming integral parts of successful innovations and business strategies. This paper deals with the applicability of a business model (as an innovation tool) for small forest owners. The main objectives were to design a business model applicable in the forestry sector and to find the innovative business alternatives for the small-scale forest owner reflecting the local situation (in a case study in the Czech Republic). The extended business model CANVAS was used. The embedded data was evaluated on the software developed at the Savonia University in Finland where business opportunity and competitive advantage were the main evaluation criteria. As a result, a proposed strategy was advised to be followed. The biggest added value of the extended CANVAS model is giving an objective and unbiased evaluation of the situation of small forest owners. The business model design proved a usable and applicable tool to be used in forest management, for the research has shown that the quantitative data should be complemented by qualitative research in order to get the complex view.

Forests as a part of landscape do not fulfil their economic function (timber production) only but a lot of other non-economic functions, especially ecological ones. Both economic and non-economic functions are indisputable and equally important for society. The aim of this paper is to identify current attitudes to forest perceptions by citizens in the Czech Republic. Primary data were obtained by means of a questionnaire research survey which was carried out in 2018. Altogether 824 respondents took part in this survey (n = 824). From the results follows that approximately 70% of respondents visit forest at least three times a month. In connection with this, the relationship between respondents' forest visit frequency and the forest density in the region where they come from was confirmed. 60% of respondents consider the forest exploitation and forest management to be the most important cause of damage and threats to forest. In relation to forest, 46% of respondents consider forest conservation and protection to be the most important topics.

As the demand and production for renewable energies increases there is a growing need to research new technologies to increase the efficiency, productivity and profitability of production. This study aimed to investigate the priorities of bioenergy stakeholders on Geographic Information Systems based research in a variety of countries including a number throughout Europe, the United States and Australia. A voluntary questionnaire was distributed internationally to bioenergy stakeholders to discern perceived usefulness ratings for various analytics. Participants rated Economic analytics as the most useful followed by Environmental, Product quality and Social assessments. Therefore, future research within the bioenergy sector should be aimed at increasing the economic viability of bioenergy and decreasing its environmental impact. There was a difference between analytic preference and the thirteen countries surveyed and the stakeholder type however, this relationship was not significant.

Improving the quality of sorting wood waste is the main problem in the timber industry from the point of view of saving energy resources and preserving the environment, associated with the intensity of forest harvesting. Depending on the required quality characteristics, the sorting of wood chips makes it possible to determine their further use in production or utilization as a fuel. This paper presents the results of the development of a novel approach to sorting wood chips on a conveyor belt using machine learning and scanning technology. The proposed methodology includes functions to analyze the fractional size distribution among wood chips and rot detection. It shows that once a defective unit is detected, the quality control system will automatically remove it from the conveyor belt while it is moving. The minimization of wood waste will reduce logging intensity and increase the profitability of lumber enterprises.

Extensive microbiological research was carried out in Tbilisi (capital of Georgia) and its surroundings to determine the causes of massive disease and dieback of urban coniferous plantations. The biological material was picked up in June-July 2020 from trees with various degrees of the disease in 42 different localities. 247 conifers (15 species) were examined microbiologically. 1 169 samples of microscopic fungi were isolated. Based on cultural-morphological and molecular-genetic (PCR) studies, 34 strains were identified to the species level, 17 to the genus level, and 1 strain to the family level. Ascomycota were represented by 15 families and 33 species, Basidiomycota by 1 family and 2 species and Zygomycota by 2 families and 2 species. Among the isolated strains, 9 species were clearly dominant and found in all studied coniferous species: Alternaria alternata (Fr.) Keissl, Sphaeropsis sapinea (Fr.) Dyko & B. Button, Epicoccum nigrum Link., Sordaria lappae Potebnia, Curvularia spp., Dothiorella spp, Nothophoma quercina (Sydow & P. Sydow) Q. Chen & L. Cai, Phoma odoratissimi Q. Chen, Didymella aliena (Fries) Q. Chen & L. Cai. It may be supposed that massive activation of pathogenic fungi is the result of weakening of plant immunity on the background of increasing abiotic stresses in Tbilisi over the years; which led to an imbalance between latent pathogens and host plants and eventually to the depressing consequences of trees dieback.

Adequate assessment of ecosystem services is important for the development of policies and management plans related to forestry activities and the environment. Carefully identified ecosystem values can determine which options policy makers should prioritize to provide the greatest benefit. There are numerous methods used by researchers to evaluate ecosystem services. The most widely applied methods are monetary valuation methods, they are often deemed to be the most pragmatic language when it comes to communication with political and business institutions. The main goal of this review is to analyse available literature using the methodology particular to the scoping review approach in order to identify and describe valuation methods that can be applied for monetary assessment of ecosystem services. As a result of the scoping review, over 20 monetary valuation techniques (including several less common methods such as willingness to sell and Delphi method) were derived from 16 literature sources. In the process of compiling the range of different methods, a few flaws and gaps in the communication of methods were observed such as lack of consistency in the names of different methods and mixing up concepts. In addition, a few areas for future research are suggested.

In recent years, the cork oak forests that characterise the Mediterranean region have been exposed to various factors that result in their degradation. These cork oak trees, due to increasingly accentuated anthropogenic activity, undergo withering at different scales.The objective of the study is to assess the impact of various factors that degrade cork oak forests in the Mediterranean region located in northeastern Algeria, and this was achieved by prospecting 22 sampling locations. This allowed the creation of a database containing 745 trees that were observed and 27 measured variables. Different readings were then taken into consideration based on measurements and sometimes on ratings. The impact of several biotic and abiotic factors, which affect and damage the health of cork oak, was identified. These factors include in particular the infestations by xylomycetophagous insects such as Platypus cylindrus and Xyleborus sp., which can potentially infest the cork oak trees that we observed one year after bark harvesting. On the other hand, the stationary descriptors such as altitude, slope, exposure, etc., are important for the dendrometric and exploitation characteristics, but their unfavourable values do not necessarily lead to tree mortality; for example, medium to low slopes, associated with average altitudes of 600 m a.s.l., may ensure the healthiest trees like in our case study. Finally, we were able to find that certain decline factors may affect a particular category of trees, either because they are older, taller or have a large girth, or because they are subject to inadequate debarking.

Clear-cutting is the most common silvicultural system. Sometimes, if the new crop is not established successfully, clearcut is left unreforested. This study focused on a site where early successional species such as silver birch (Bi) and rowan (Ro) were accompanied with Norway spruce (Sp) in 13-year-old stand from natural regeneration at 550 m of altitude at an acidic site with eastern aspect and 25% slope. We found five types of stand composition: treeless gaps, Ro-Bi, Ro-Bi-Sp, Bi-Sp and monospecific Sp. Besides these juvenile ones, adjacent 100-year-old spruce (Sp old) stand representing pre-harvesting conditions was studied. In addition to the performance of trees, organic layer (Hum), topsoil (Ah) and upper subsoil (B) horizons were sampled to study an expected shift of chemical properties after clear-cutting and secondary succession at the site of interest. Birch dominated the natural regeneration; rowan and spruce were present mostly in understorey. Old spruce was more acidic and nutrient-poorer compared to the juvenile treatments. The treeless treatment showed also slightly higher pH and comparable nutrients compared to the young mixtures. Young spruce was higher in nitrogen compared to Ro-Bi-Sp mixture.

According to the data of the Central Statistical Office, there has been an increase in forest cover in Poland from 27.8% to 29.6% over the last 25 years. This increase contributed to an increase in the possibility of wood obtaining and processing for energy purposes. The aim of the study was to analyse the efficiency of a chipping machine manufactured by the American Company Bandit Industries (Bandit 990XP chipper) based on the working day chronometer. The study was carried out in specific conditions related to the place of the chipper application because the machine was used to process the material obtained from standing trees in the framework of park maintenance. As it was shown during the analysed working day, the effective capacity W1 in the work cycle of the Bandit 990XP machine was 9.2 m³∙h^-1 chips. Specific working conditions made it impossible to organize the work smoothly. Ongoing obtaining of the material for chipping from standing trees resulted in low productivity during the exploitation time of the shift W08 on the level of 1.3 m³∙h^-1 chips.

The paper presents the maps of ecosystems and 11 dominant woody species of Ambrolauri municipality, Georgia (Europe). Forest cover comprises approximately 68% of the study area, most of which are natural forests. Almost all formations of natural forests, depicted on the Georgian section of the Map of the Natural Vegetation of Europe, are still preserved in the research area. Nearly 40% of the forested land is broadleaf forest. Woody species are better preserved in the upper reaches of rivers, while an anthropogenic transformation is most visible in the Lower Racha Floodplain. A majority of the species discussed in the paper are included in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The paper also deals with the issues of forest land degradation and threats imposed by invasive species to biodiversity.

The study focused on natural regeneration of European beech (Fagus sylvatica), Norway spruce (Picea abies) and European larch (Larix decidua) within very small and four times bigger size gaps following a disturbance at a mixed temperate forest in the Czech Republic. In spring 2013, experimental gap design starts, when 1 m2 circular sampling plots along transects were delineated within four selected naturally occurring canopy openings with size below 20 m2. In December 2013, these initial canopy openings were artificially enlarged by felling to 226 m2 for small and 904 m2 for big gaps. Regeneration was monitored in the next two consecutive growing seasons after disturbance. Light conditions were measured before and after disturbance. Results indicated that four times larger gaps increased twice levels of light conditions, and that diffuse light starts to equilibrate to direct light there. Large gaps were favouring larch regeneration. Beech regeneration was predominant, independently on gap size as the study area belongs naturally to Beech Forest Vegetation Zone, however, the decline of spruce regeneration was presumably linked to drought. Gap size explained variation of larch regeneration in gaps. Contrarily, gap size could not be associated with the prolific regeneration of beech and abysmal regeneration performances of spruce in gaps.

Biomass nutrient loss and retention were studied at nutrient-poor forest site dominated by Scots pine where two methods of logging residues handling after clear-cutting were compared. The experiment was conducted on nutrient-poor pine-oak forest site on deep sandy-gravel unconsolidated sediments at the altitude of 255 m. There were three treatments established such as (i) control - no harvesting, (ii) whole-tree harvesting with ca. 10% of the slash retained unintentionally on site as processing residues and (iii) stem-only harvesting when small-diameter wood and slash were left on site. The third treatment was found to retain much larger amounts of nutrients in logging residues representing 16% of total above-ground dry mass which accounted for 58% of N, 32% of P, 56% of K, 22% of Ca and 28% of Mg left on site.

The relation between wood export and import of Iran and a number of major macroeconomic variables, such as oil price, gross domestic production, population, exchange rate, unemployment rate, inflation and domestic wood production during 1980-2014 were described. Pearson's correlation coefficient and multiple regression analysis were used for data analysis. The results showed that there is a significant relation at a significance level of 5% between wood export as a dependent variable and oil price, GDP, population, exchange rate and domestic wood production as independent variables. Meanwhile, there is also a significant relation between wood import and oil price, exchange rate and domestic wood production. The findings also indicate that oil price as an independent variable has the highest effect on wood import in Iran during the studied period.

A study of work accidents in forests has shown that dangerous trees play an important role in forest accidents. Despite the importance of safe working environments for forestry operations, the definition of these areas in natural forests is still unclear. Dangerous trees are considered those snagged with broken branches and a canopy or ones with dead trunks and stumps that have a hazard potential to the forest workers. This study investigates the frequency of these trees in the managed and unmanaged forests in the Caspian forests of Iran. In order to do the study, 15 circular plots with a total area of 1,000 square metres in two studied parcels were selected and the trees, according to their dangerous characteristics, were evaluated. The final results indicated that 66 and 50 trees per hectare had signs of being dangerous trees in the managed and unmanaged stand, respectively. A comparison of the average number of dangerous trees in the two studied parcels using the Mann-Whitney test indicated a significant difference so that the average number of dangerous trees in the managed parcel was more than the ummanaged parcel. Trees with broken branches had the highest frequency in the managed stand, while trees with a dead trunk or stump, a broken branch and canopy in the unmanaged forest were more than the other classes. Considering the relative frequency of the dangerous trees in the two study areas, identifying them could be one of the main attempts in logging safety. The existence of hazardous trees with different risk classes in each of the forest stands requires the development of specific safety instructions to deal with the risks of each tree.

Considering the importance of recreation and excursions in household's basket of expenditures on the one hand, and not paying attention to the economic value of recreational function for natural resources and environment as non-market goods on the other hand, this paper was written with the aim of estimating the recreational value of Shahid Zare Sari Forest Park when using the individual travel cost method. Requested data sets were obtained by completing questionnaires from 302 individuals who visited the above-mentioned park in 2012-2013. In the individual travel cost method, for the investigation of distributional effects of variables on the number of travels, a linear regression model was applied. For this purpose the travel generation function using linear, double log, linear-log and log-linear forms was estimated. Among these forms, according to the econometrical parameter, a linear function was selected and parameters were estimated based on the method of ordinary least squares. The consumer surplus was 12.53 USD per each visit and the annual recreational value of 72,500 people who visited the park annually was 52,558 USD.ha^-1. The findings also showed that the involved variables, travel costs, income and visitor's distance were statistically significant at 1% level and family and education were significant at 5% level. Results revealed that forest parks have a considerable recreational value that, from this point of view, can help programmers and executives, social and economic managers in the preservation planning and sustainable utilization of natural resources.

The paper aims to evaluate the applicability of International Accounting Standard (IAS) 41 to the valuation of a growing stock of stands and entering its value in the corporate accounting system in the Czech Republic. In this context, IAS 41 is analysed in detail with focus on the method of reporting of the forest value in the accounting. At the same time a questionnaire survey is conducted among the forestry sector experts on the topic of willingness to report the forest value in statements. Based on the findings, an alternative solution to the application of IAS 41 to the forest accounting treatment, which would be potentially applicable, is proposed in the paper. The questionnaire survey (n = 317) has found that there is an increasing tendency towards the willingness to report the forest in the statements, especially in the organizations which simultaneously meet the statutory duty to disclose this value in the notes to the statements, and it is also recognized that this willingness does not depend on the legal form of organization.

There is little knowledge available regarding Australian forestry work safety and accident rates. Machine operators and forestry workers are vital parts of the forestry sector and their health and well-being can greatly impact on their work quality and efficiency. To increase our knowledge of forest workers' safety this project aimed to analyse the frequency, type and root causes of work accidents which occurred within different forestry activities of five industry partners of Australian Forest Operations Research Alliance over the period from 2004 to 2014. A questionnaire was designed and distributed to the partners to collect the safety incident reports. Total number of work accidents was 470 for a period of 11 years (a rate of 43 accidents per year). Considering the estimated yearly production rates of the industry partners that participated in this project, the accident severity rate was 14.40 accidents per million m³ of harvested wood. The majority of accidents occurred in harvesting operations (37%) and forest management (30.2%). Based on the results 8.1% of the accidents occurred during firefighting and 24.3% of work accidents occurred in other forestry activities. Main root causes of accidents for different types of activities were personal errors such as lack of personal protective equipment, operator error, poor body position and poor techniques applied. Work safety training could be delivered to forestry personnel to minimise accidents caused by personal errors. Back and shoulder (as upper parts of the body) received most injuries. To avoid/reduce muscular damage (such as strain and sprain) the workers should be provided with proper ergonomic training.

The paper deals with the evaluation of economy of forestry companies. The evaluation stems from the results of economic analyses of enterprises that are further monitored in the context of forestry and development of economic financial ratios of evaluated companies. Furthermore, the evaluation is based on real possibilities of companies stemming from resources which they have at their disposal and on the facts that occurred in the selected companies in the monitored period. The development of important factors influencing the whole branch of forestry and their real state are introduced in the first part of the paper. After that, methods used in financial analysis of enterprises are described. The fact that forest land in the Czech Republic covered 2.66 million hectares in 2014 and its proportion in the total area of the country is 34% adds importance to the topic (Czech Statistical Yearbook 2015).

Romania is also included among the European Union countries where deforested areas have radically increased in recent years, with mountain areas being the most affected. The pressure on the forest fund was analysed in the Maramureş County, as one of the most deforested counties of Romania. In view of assessing the forest area evolution, forested and deforested areas have been calculated for the period 2001-2012, using the Global Forest Change 2000-2012 database provided by the Department of Geographical Sciences, Maryland University. The economic pressure quantification was monitored by developing a database on economic activities based upon the loggings carried out in the period 2001-2012. This database comprises the number of companies, their turnover, profit and the number of employees for the economic sectors causing pressure on the forest fund. The outcomes show a dramatic increase in deforested areas, amounting to over 16,500 ha in the Maramureș County. Nearly 5,000 ha have been deforested in Borșa, the commune with the largest deforested areas in the period 2000-2012, causing major imbalances to the local ecosystem.

Forests in the mountain ranges are supposed to meet multiple objectives at the same time. There are different expectations and priorities among stakeholder groups. The object of the research is the case study area in the Goat Backs Mountains in Slovakia (representing Western Carpathians). The stakeholders' panel which included local government officials, landowners, foresters, interest group representatives etc. judged the current and future importance of ecosystem services in a special questionnaire. The context analysis provided main strengths and weaknesses, threats and opportunities that influence mountain forest management and the provision and use of ecosystem services in the case study area were done by involved experts from practice and science. Based on the SWOT results a possible strategy for the provision of ecosystem services was proposed. Some of the key issues that have been identified by experts concerning the balancing of ecosystem service provision are: strengthening the local stakeholder involvement; enhancing regional initiatives; and economic market-oriented instruments and economic incentives.