Curly birch (Betula pendula var. carelica (Merklin) Hejtmanek) is widely distributed over north-western part or Russia, including the Baltic Soviet Republics and Belorussia. Experiences of growing this decorative species in Soviet Karelia and Leningrad region are presented. Commonly used classifications of the species are described, and recommendations for management of curly birch cultures and production of planting stock in greenhouses are given.
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Since the end of 1960s some 350 voluntary forestry cooperation areas covering about 10% of Finland’s total private forest area have been established in the country in order to avoid drawbacks of small individual units. The aim of the study was to find out why most of these cooperative areas have been established in the area of northern Karelia forestry board district in Eastern Finland, whereas elsewhere establishing has advanced very slowly. »Soft» research techniques based on free interviews was used to gather the data. Attitudes of the interest organizations of forest owners and forest industry companies, question of organizer of cooperation, and resources for regional forestry planning were found as most important factors to explain the differences in development of cooperation in different areas.
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The article is based on studies made in the Karelian isthmus in 1936-1938 before the World War II broke in 1939. Further studies were not possible after the war when the area was handed over to Soviet Union. Economic data of agriculture and forestry of the farms had mostly been regarded separately in the early economic studies of small farms in Finland. This survey aimed at studying influence of forestry in the economy of a small farm. 141 farms were included in a more detailed survey.
Forestry accounted for in average 38% of total income of the farms in 1937-1938. The farms had sold wood often, the amounts being often small. Good transport connections in the area facilitated the sales. Over 70% were sales at delivered price, and about half of the wood was small-sized timber. According to the results of the survey, forestry was important for the small farms in Karelian isthmus. The farmers could not have made a living without the forests. Hoveter, the farms had had to overuse the forest resources. The wood resources decreased by 18-22% in 1922-1938. They were, however, at the same level as in average in Finland in 1938.
The article includes an abstract in German.
The abundance of Norway spruce (Picae abies (L.) H. Karst.) undergrowth is common for the state forests in Karelia near the Russian border, in Finland. In the survey, the occurrence of the undergrowth was studied. The article includes a review on the ownership of the forest, forest soils in the area, and the state of forests in the area. Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) is the dominative species in 67%, Norway spruce in 27% and Betula sp. 6% of the state forests. Only 2% of the forests are 1‒20 years of age. Stands in the age group of 61‒80 years are the most common (25%). Norway spruce undergrowth is most abundant in the municipality of Salmi. The forests are typically moist forest site types or grass-herb site types. If the stands are allowed to develop naturally, even the Vaccinium sites become Norway spruce dominated. Spruce undergrowth is formed seldom under a spruce forest unless the stand is thin or has openings. Because Norway spruce is often rare in the mineral soil sites, the undergrowth is often regenerated from seeds that spread from spruce swamps. Earlier practiced shifting cultivation and its frequent fires prevented regeneration of spruce undergrowth. Similarly, the common felling method used, clear felling in strips, does not promote spruce undergrowth. Consequently, their occurrence is likely to decrease in the future.
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Sample trees of Betula sp. were felled in North Karelia in different forest site types. The stands, both mixed and pure stands, had been regenerated in areas where shifting cultivation had been practiced. Sample trees represented breast height diameters up to 43 cm. Diameter was measured in distances of 1/10 of the height of the tree to calculate the stem form. The form factor was higher for the good forest site types than the poor sites. The volume tables were calculated based on the assumption that diameter does not affect the form factor. Comparing the volume table to the original data, it was found that the table seems to form a successful fitting of the data. Control data proved that the method seems to give a good fitting to the used data. Thus, the volume table can be used to measure volume of birch stands in North Karelia.
The PDF includes a summary in German.
The article is a review on the lands that were donated to the Russian aristocracy in Eastern and Southeastern Finland in 1700s. The farmers in the area used to be tenants of state lands or independent land owners. The insufficient and diverse stipulation of the ownership of the lands in the donation documents caused later disputes between the landlords and the farmers. One of the issues was who had right to use the forests. For the farmers this meant significant reductions in their right to harvest timber and household wood, or practice shifting cultivation. There were attempts to improve the situation of the tenants, but the final solution came in the end of 1800s, when the parliament began to promote farmers’ right to purchase the lands. In the land reform, the state raised a loan to purchase the donated lands, and give them to the farmers, who would then pay back their share of the loan. Part of the forests remained state lands in the reform. Several jointly owned forests were also established using the state forests to give access to household wood for farms that had little own forests. The private forests on donated lands had larger standing crop than the private forests in general. Together with increasing demand of wood for the developing manufacturing industry, this gave possibility for abusive practices in timber trade. The timber prices were low, and farmers exchanged felling rights to loan.