Current issue: 58(4)
This article is a book review of a book Établissement des courbes de variation de la densité du bois par exploration densitométrique de radiographies d’échantillons prélevés à la tariére sur des arbes vivants’ by Hubert Polge.
The paper outlines the information about forest tree nurseries in the Roman Empire, found in ancient writings. According to the author, it cannot be stated that actual forest cultivation was practiced in the times of the Roman Empire, even if tree seedlings were used for a variety of purposes, such as embellishment of cities, parks and gardens, and raising supporting trees in forest vineyards. Nurseries were usually established on farms to fill the owner’s needs. For instance, Gato, Varro, Virgil, Pliny and Colulmella have given instructions about establishment and management of nurseries, and methods to sowing seeds of different tree species. Except for seeds, both root- and branch-cuttings were used in cultivation of trees. Also, grafting was known.
The PDF includes a summary in English.
The present study is an examination of the problems involved in raw-wood inventory from the viewpoint of business economics. The term inventory used here includes the standing timber marked for cutting as well as delivery contracts. The task of inventory is to buffer the differences in timing, locality, quantity and quality caused by purchase, production and delivery processes. The basic problem is concerned with profits.
The basic aim is to keep the inventory small. Its limits are determined by comparing the storage costs and costs of shortage. The costs may be decreased without risking the reliability of deliveries by technical development and road improvement, which also decrease dependence on the seasonal variation of harvesting of timber. A model based on present practices, statistics and practical experiences can be used to calculate different alternatives. The volume of purchases, felling, deliveries, transportation, and differences in quantities and transfer is used to estimate the target level of the inventory. It forms a forecast which the future performances can be compared to. In addition to monitoring turnover rate of the total inventory and capital tied to the inventory, also the exceptions in structure, time and quantity of the inventory and the factors changing it should be monitored. A special difficulty in timber inventory book-keeping are the continuous variations in the measured volumes even if no loss occurs.
The PDF includes a summary in English.
Due to mechanization of draining of peatlands, also open peatlands have been included in the draining projects due to technical reasons. Some research has been published on afforestation of open drained peatlands, but there is yet no experiments that reaches the entire development of the stands. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the possibility of extending the planting season of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) over the entire growing season in drained peatlands, where the water condition of the site is probably not the factor limiting forest development. An open low-sedge swamps in Southern Finland were planted in early summer and two weeks in midsummer in 1967.
In the light of the results, planting Scots pine would seem possible in drained peatlands throughout the growing season. However, plants may suffer considerably from lifting for the plantation in August. The success of planting at the turn of September and October is also uncertain. The nursery must be situated close to the areas to be planted, since the transportation and handling of plants during the growing season must be carried out with extreme care. The seasonality of planting work could be decreased by extending the planting season. In the future, several transplant storing methods should be tried out in connection with similar planting-time experiments.
The PDF includes a summary in English.