Forest conservation planning requires evidence of how administrative protection categories correspond to forest conditions. We linked three project-defined categories to 5 530 plots from the second Czech National Forest Inventory (2011-2015) and adjusted comparisons for stand age, forest vegetation zone, terrain and inventory year. The strong category showed a distinctive combination of attributes: greater broadleaf representation, more frequent standing deadwood and less frequent stump occurrence than both the reference and moderate categories. Adjusted standing-deadwood occurrence reached 31% in the strong category and 19% in the reference category. The directions of these contrasts persisted under alternative classification rules. Protection class explained little additional variation in live or total standing volume. Broadleaf-share differences varied among forest vegetation zones, and tree-diameter differences varied with age and zone. Recorded woody-taxon diversity showed a small difference that depended on the classification rule. Composition, tree dimensions and occurrence indicators therefore distinguished the categories more clearly than growing stock. These cross-sectional associations identify biological inputs for subsequent economic assessment of management restrictions on forest owners; monetary impacts were not quantified. Valuation requires species-specific timber quantities, management alternatives, prices and costs.
Expanding forest protection may create a conflict between biodiversity conservation objectives and the availability of wood raw material for downstream industries. This study aimed to assess the potential impacts of this conflict on the Czech wood-processing sector and to identify mechanisms that could mitigate emerging raw-material shortages. A systematic synthesis of 311 unique studies was combined with an evidence-constrained scenario model incorporating supply restrictions, trade adjustment, production leakage, domestic adaptation, and sector-specific exposure. For the Czech reference industrial wood supply of 14.558 million m3, three scenarios were assessed: LOW (5%), CENTRAL (12.5%), and HIGH (37%). Under the CENTRAL scenario, reference trade adjustment reduced the deficit to 559.9 thousand m3, corresponding to 3.85% of baseline supply; with full implementation of the identified technical adaptation potential, the deficit could decline to 1.28%. Under the HIGH scenario, however, a deficit of 13.53% remained even after trade adjustment and maximum identified adaptation. The results show that the compatibility of stronger forest protection with the functioning of the wood-processing industry depends on the magnitude of the initial supply shock, trade response, implementation of adaptation measures, and maintenance of critical raw-material flows.
Face-to-face auctions of valuable timber assortments have operated regularly in the Czech Republic since 2015, but their development and market role have not previously been quantified. This study analysed 426 aggregated auction records from 2015-2025 and examined temporal trends in recorded auction volume and realised auction prices, seasonal distribution, species-specific offered volumes and the relationship between auction prices and comparable Czech national oak prices. Across the completed 2015/2016-2024/2025 seasons, recorded auction volume increased from 1 544.21 m3 to 14 681.95 m3, with an estimated mean increase of 1 426 m3 per season and 85.8% of the variation explained by the fitted trend. Q1 accounted for 82.1% of the combined Q4-Q1 recorded auction volume, and the quarterly difference was significant (P = 0.002). Significant upward trends were detected in total recorded auction volume and in the species-specific offered volumes of oak and larch, whereas no significant monotonic trends were detected in inflation-adjusted realised auction prices. Oak (Quercus sp.) accounted for 66.1% of the total volume offered, followed by European larch (Larix decidua Mill.; 17.4%) and European ash (Fraxinus excelsior L.; 8.6%). Rare admixed species occurred only sporadically, providing insufficient evidence of systematic price premiums. Inflation-adjusted realised auction prices for oak were strongly associated with comparable Czech national mean prices (Pearson's R = 0.839; P < 0.001), although this relationship does not establish causality. Czech face-to-face auctions therefore represent a growing but specialised sales channel, principally for valuable oak and larch assortments; assessment of their causal market effects requires comparable transaction-level data.
Climate change is intensifying pressures on European forest-nursery production, particularly during drought periods, yet no comprehensive national-level assessment of irrigation infrastructure and development needs has existed for the Hungarian sector. This study characterised irrigation infrastructure, willingness to participate in subsidy schemes, and development priorities among responding Hungarian forest tree nurseries, and assessed regional differences and associations among these characteristics. An anonymous online questionnaire was distributed to all 426 registered Hungarian forest nurseries. Over 20 days, 150 valid responses were received (35% response rate). Potential non-response bias was assessed using three complementary methods. Data were analysed with Fisher's exact tests, Cramér's V effect sizes, and binomial logistic regression with multimodel inference ('glmulti') in R. National statistics indicated a heterogeneous nursery production structure: the smallest nurseries (≤ 1 ha) accounted for only 2.5% of the total nursery area but produced 25% of all seedlings. Against this sectoral background, the survey revealed a substantial irrigation gap among respondents, with 40% of responding nurseries reporting no irrigation infrastructure. Overall, 62% of respondents indicated willingness to participate in irrigation-development programmes. Existing infrastructure did not show a strong correlation with subsidy-participation intentions; there was only a minor correlation among some parameters of existing infrastructures and preferred development goals, whereas the multivariable logistic model explained only modest variance (McFadden R2 = 0.14; AICc = 119.5). The most frequently requested development components were pump purchases (66%) and water-source improvements, including new wells and water permits (52%). The survey findings indicate substantial unmet irrigation infrastructure needs alongside considerable subsidy interest among respondents, suggesting that targeted public investment could effectively modernise the sector and enhance its climate resilience.
A reliable forest-biomass supply requires alignment among resource owners, processing contractors and energy users. This study examined governance and actor-specific strategic positions in a central Slovak chain comprising the state forest enterprise LESY SR, the contractor WorldWood and the Zvolen district-heating plant. Four management informants were interviewed using pre-tested semi-structured guides; the resulting factors were rated for impact (1-5) and importance (1-3), triangulated with documentary and operational evidence, and converted into weighted SWOT-TOWS coordinates. LESY SR (x = 16; y = -61) and the heating plant (x = 36; y = -26) occupied the strength-threat quadrant. WorldWood had a strong internal position (x = 57), but its external coordinate was boundary-sensitive: y ranged from -3 to 3 across the permitted importance weights for one corrected item. The chain was contractor-mediated and weakly integrated; principal system-level risks included seasonal mismatch, short-horizon tendering, price volatility, fuel-quality variability, and transport and storage costs. The contribution is to demonstrate that strategic asymmetry, rather than a lack of technical capacity, constrains coordination. Rolling volume forecasts, risk-sharing framework contracts, quality-based payment, regional inventory planning and interoperable traceability records are recommended. The study provides a replicable actor-level diagnostic for early-stage biomass-chain evidence.
