Articles containing the keyword 'assessment'

Within the European Community snow damage affects an estimated 4 million m³ of timber every year, causing significant economic losses to forest owners. In Northern Europe, for example, the occurrence of snow damage has increased over the last few decades mainly due to the increase in total growing stock. The most common form of damage is stem breakage, but trees can also be bent or uprooted. Trees suffering snow damage are also more prone to consequential damage through insect or fungal attacks.

Snow accumulation on trees is strongly dependent upon weather and climatological conditions. Temperature influences the moisture content of snow and therefore the degree to which it can accumulate on branches. Wind can cause snow to be shed, but can also lead to large accumulations of wet snow, rime or freezing rain. Wet snow is most likely in late autumn or early spring. Geographic location and topography influence the occurrence of damaging forms of snow, and coastal locations and moderate to high elevations experience large accumulations. Slope plays a less important role and the evidence on the role of aspect is contradictory. The occurrence of damaging events can vary from every winter to once every 10 years or so depending upon regional climatology. In the future, assuming global warming in northern latitudes, the risk of snow damage could increase, because the relative occurrence of snowfall near temperatures of zero could increase.

The severity of snow damage is related to tree characteristics. Stem taper and crown characteristics are the most important factors controlling the stability of trees. Slightly tapering stems, asymmetric crowns, and rigid horizontal branching are all associated with high risk. However, the evidence on species differences is less clear due to the interaction with location. Management of forests can alter risk through choice of regeneration, tending, thinning and rotation. However, quantification and comparison of the absolute effect of these measures is not yet possible. An integrated risk model is required to allow the various locational and silvicultural factors to be assessed. Plans are presented to construct such a model, and gaps in knowledge are highlighted.

• Nykänen, E-mail: mn@mm.unknown
• Broadgate, E-mail: mb@mm.unknown
• Kellomäki, E-mail: sk@mm.unknown
• Peltola, E-mail: hp@mm.unknown
• Quine, E-mail: cq@mm.unknown

Damage on Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) caused by Gremmeniella abietina (Lagerb.) Morelet was assessed in the summer of 1992 in 67 stands in eastern Lapland. The area and severity of damage were smaller and lighter than had earlier been estimated and occurred especially in stands in the first-thinning stage or in middle-age. Significant new infection of 1991 occurred in stands previously heavily infected by G. abietina near Kemihaara river, lake Naruska, the Naruska river, the Tuntsa river and lake Vilma. Fresh damage occurred mainly in the lower or middle parts of the Scots pine canopies.

• Kaitera, E-mail: jk@mm.unknown
• Jalkanen, E-mail: rj@mm.unknown

The cone crop of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) has been assessed in Finland since 1930 annually by sending a questionnaire to forest professionals around the country. Based on the result it is decided if the crop is good enough for collection of the cones next winter. This article presents the results of cone surveys in 1950-1953, and suggest improvements in the method of the investigation.

According to the survey, Scots pine crop was best in 1952, when the crop was intermediate in the whole country, and relatively abundant in the county of Lapland. Norway spruce crop was best in 1951, when the crop was better than in average in the whole country. The evaluators had variable opinions whether the crop was good enough for cone collection or not. They assessed the pine cone collection more often as profitable than the spruce cone collection. Usual reasons to regard spruce cone collection as unprofitable were seed damages and the sites being too far away. To make the results more uniform and accurate, a suggestion to change the evaluation method is presented. The evaluation should be focused on the cone crop of mature stands.

The Acta Forestalia Fennica issue 61 was published in honour of professor Eino Saari’s 60th birthday.
The PDF includes a summary in German.

• Rummukainen, E-mail: ur@mm.unknown

We evaluated the consistency of video, ordinary photo, and panoramic photo surveys in measuring the attractiveness (recreational use, scenic values etc.) of forest stands managed with varying intensities. We also evaluated possible effects on the results caused by the personal background of citizen respondents and how the respondents experienced the evaluation events. Our experimental sites were in mature Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) forests in eastern Finland and included two replicate sites which were unharvested (control, basal area 26 m² ha^–1), a selective cutting site (basal area 18 m² ha^–1), small openings sites (gap cut) with 5 and 20% retained trees, respectively, and one site which was clear cut with 3% retained trees. In our study, 71 volunteer forestry students evaluated the attractiveness of these sites from an ordinary photo, a panoramic photo, and a video, with a 0–10 scale. Based on this study, the unharvested forest was the most attractive and clear cutting was the least attractive, regardless of the evaluation method. This result was in line with a previous study using on-site evaluations of the same sites. The differences of respondents considering in how easy they felt to assess the attractiveness of the environment as a whole and in using different visualisation methods affected the result, unlike background variables of the respondents. The results of forest attractiveness were consistent between panoramic and ordinary photos, and the attractiveness scoring was slightly higher for them than for the video. We conclude that all the compared visualisation methods seem to be suitable for assessment of the attractiveness of forest views.

• Silvennoinen, School of Forest Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, P.O. Box 111, FI-80101 Joensuu, Finland https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9095-7986 E-mail: harri.silvennoinen@uef.fi
• Pikkarainen, School of Forest Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, P.O. Box 111, FI-80101 Joensuu, Finland https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5301-3639 E-mail: laura.pikkarainen@uef.fi
• Nakola, School of Forest Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, P.O. Box 111, FI-80101 Joensuu, Finland E-mail: heini.nakola@gmail.com
• Koivula, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Latokartanonkaari 9, FI-00790 Helsinki, Finland https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6415-4904 E-mail: matti.koivula@luke.fi
• Tyrväinen, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Latokartanonkaari 9, FI-00790 Helsinki, Finland https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5144-7150 E-mail: liisa.tyrvainen@luke.fi
• Tikkanen, School of Forest Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, P.O. Box 111, FI-80101 Joensuu, Finland https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9693-8209 E-mail: jukka.tikkanen@uef.fi
• Chambers, School of Forest Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, P.O. Box 111, FI-80101 Joensuu, Finland https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0586-3142 E-mail: philip.chambers@uef.fi
• Peltola, School of Forest Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, P.O. Box 111, FI-80101 Joensuu, Finland https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1384-9153 E-mail: heli.peltola@uef.fi

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of leaching of heavy metals (Cr, As, Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn, Co, Mo) and earth-alkaline metal, barium (Ba), on the percolation and ditch water quality from the forest roads that contained ash in the road structures. Water quality was studied in the immediate vicinity below the ash layers as well as deeper in the road structure. Water quality was also determined in the drainage water in ditches that crossed the forest roads. A mixture of wood and peat based fly ash was used in the road structures. The treatments were: 1) no ash, 2) a 15 cm layer of ash/gravel mixture, 3) a 20 cm layer of ash/gravel mixture, 4) a 25 cm layer of ash, and 5) a 50 cm layer of ash. Large variation in the concentrations of Cr, As, Cu, Ni, Pb, Mo and Ba in the percolation water, even within the same treatment, caused difficulties to generalize the results. The concentrations of Cr, As, Ni, Pb, Mo and Ba in water samples were high in some treatment plot lysimeters containing ash compared to the control (no ash). On the other hand, many lysimeters had low and similar concentrations in water samples in the treatment plots containing ash compared to concentrations in the control plots. The ash in the roads did not affect the concentrations in the ditches. The leaching is uneven and seems to take place only from some parts of the ash layer. Risk for leaching is minimal if such parts are not widely spread.

• Lindroos, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Latokartanonkaari 9, FI-00790 Helsinki, Finland E-mail: antti.lindroos@luke.fi
• Ryhti, University of Helsinki, Department of Forest Sciences, P.O. Box 27, FI-00014 University of Helsinki, Finland E-mail: kira.ryhti@helsinki.fi
• Kaakkurivaara, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Latokartanonkaari 9, FI-00790 Helsinki, Finland E-mail: tomi.kaakkurivaara@gmail.com
• Uusitalo, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Korkeakoulunkatu 7, FI-33720 Tampere, Finland E-mail: jori.uusitalo@luke.fi
• Helmisaari, University of Helsinki, Department of Forest Sciences, P.O. Box 27, FI-00014 University of Helsinki, Finland E-mail: helja-sisko.helmisaari@helsinki.fi

• Trubins, Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Box 49, 230 53 Alnarp, Sweden E-mail: renats.trubins@slu.se
• Sallnäs, Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Box 49, 230 53 Alnarp, Sweden E-mail: ola.sallnas@slu.se

• Kretschmer, Chair of Forest Growth, Albert-Ludwigs-University Freiburg, Tennenbacher Str. 4, 79106 Freiburg, Germany E-mail: ursula.kretschmer@iww.uni-freiburg.de
• Kirchner, VOLKE Consulting Engineers GmbH, Schätzweg 7-9, 80935 München, Germany E-mail: nadeschda.kirchner@volke.muc.de
• Morhart, Chair of Forest Growth, Albert-Ludwigs-University Freiburg, Tennenbacher Str. 4, 79106 Freiburg, Germany E-mail: christopher.morhart@iww.uni-freiburg.de
• Spiecker, Chair of Forest Growth, Albert-Ludwigs-University Freiburg, Tennenbacher Str. 4, 79106 Freiburg, Germany E-mail: instww@uni-freiburg.de

• Wulff, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Forest Resource Management, Skogsmarksgränd, SE-901 83 Umeå, Sweden E-mail: soren.wulff@slu.se
• Roberge, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Forest Resource Management, Skogsmarksgränd, SE-901 83 Umeå, Sweden E-mail: cornelia.roberge@slu.se
• Ringvall, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Forest Resource Management, Skogsmarksgränd, SE-901 83 Umeå, Sweden E-mail: anna.ringvall@slu.se
• Holm, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Forest Resource Management, Skogsmarksgränd, SE-901 83 Umeå, Sweden E-mail: soren.holm@slu.se
• Ståhl, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Forest Resource Management, Skogsmarksgränd, SE-901 83 Umeå, Sweden E-mail: goran.stahl@slu.se

• Wallenius, Metsähallitus, P.O. Box 94, FI-01301 Vantaa, Finland E-mail: tarja.wallenius@metsa.fi
• Laamanen, Metsähallitus, P.O. Box 94, FI-01301 Vantaa, Finland E-mail: rl@nn.fi
• Peuhkurinen, Oy Arbonaut Ltd, Helsinki, Finland E-mail: jp@nn.fi
• Mehtätalo, University of Eastern Finland, School of Forest Sciences, Joensuu, Finland E-mail: lm@nn.fi
• Kangas, University of Helsinki, Department of Forest Sciences, Helsinki, Finland E-mail: ak@nn.fi

• Uliczka, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Forest Faculty, Department of Conservation Biology, Grimsö Wildlife Research Station, SE-730 91 Riddarhyttan, Sweden E-mail: helen.uliczka@nvb.slu.se

• Alig, USDA Forest Service, Forestry Sciences Lab, 3200 SW Jefferson Way, Corvallis, Oregon 97331, USA E-mail: ralig@fs.fed.us
• Adams, College of Forestry, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon 97331, USA E-mail: da@nn.us
• Mills, USDA Forest Service, Forestry Sciences Lab, 1221 SW Yamhill, Portland, Oregon 97205, USA E-mail: jm@nn.us
• Haynes, USDA Forest Service, Forestry Sciences Lab, 1221 SW Yamhill, Portland, Oregon 97205, USA E-mail: rh@nn.us
• Ince, USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Lab, Madison, Wisconsin 53705, USA E-mail: pi@nn.us
• Moulton, USDA Forest Service (retired), Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709, USA E-mail: rm@nn.us

• Lexer, Institute of Silviculture, University of Agricultural Sciences, Peter-Jordanstrasse 70, A-1190 Vienna, Austria E-mail: lexer@edv1.boku.ac.at
• Hönninger, Institute of Silviculture, University of Agricultural Sciences, Peter-Jordanstrasse 70, A-1190 Vienna, Austria E-mail: kh@nn.at
• Scheifinger, Institute of Meteorology and Physics, University of Agricultural Sciences, Türkenschanzstrasse 18, A-1180 Vienna, Austria E-mail: hs@nn.at
• Matulla, Institute of Meteorology and Physics, University of Agricultural Sciences, Türkenschanzstrasse 18, A-1180 Vienna, Austria E-mail: cm@nn.at
• Groll, Institute of Meteorology and Physics, University of Agricultural Sciences, Türkenschanzstrasse 18, A-1180 Vienna, Austria E-mail: ng@nn.at
• Kromp-Kolb, Institute of Meteorology and Physics, University of Agricultural Sciences, Türkenschanzstrasse 18, A-1180 Vienna, Austria E-mail: hkk@nn.at

• Päätalo, Faculty of Forestry, University of Joensuu, P.O. Box 111, FIN-80101 Joensuu, Finland E-mail: mlp@nn.fi