Rosewood

Forest consolidation is seen as a solution instrument for the fragmentation of small private forests in Bavaria. The focus of this project: perspectives for the involved authorities, professionals, communities and forest owners. Furthermore, the establishment and development processes as well as the evaluation of the forest consolidations from the perspective of the involved stakeholders was qualitatively analyzed in thee case studies

 For forest consolidations the following actions are recommended:
If possible: increased implementation of the voluntary exchange of land
Use of successful examples in structural improvement activities as role models when new forest consolidations are initiated
Keep the duration of the procedure as short as possible
Intensive cooperation of the involved authorities
Planning and implementation of the forest consolidation adjusted to the situation and with special attention on key activities

Regarding the effect of forest consolidation on the mobilization of wood the following conclusions are drawn:
The effect of forest consolidation on the size of the property is only limited
Forest consolidation can help forest owners with strong forest owner motives to manage their forests how they want to and thereby increase the use of wood and intensify marketing activities
Relationships to the forestry communication network (becoming a member of forestry associations, getting advice from forest administration) are being intensified or created
Forest administration and forestry associations need to get connected to forest owners and support them throughout the forest consolidation to create trust

Goal of the project was to improve the flow of information and of material in the timber supply process of the forestry associations (WBVs) Traunstein, Rosenheim and Holzkirchen. The following objectives were defined: Creation of an integrative model to increase the competitiveness of all stakeholders in the value-added chain (forest owner, WBVs, contractors, haulers, consumers of wood) Evaluation of different timber harvest chains in the frame of an actual state analysis based on important logistic indicators (i.a. lead times, accounting periods) Recording of organizational structures and of the technical equipment of the WBVs for the identification of the business process flow The study showed that especially in small private forests a clear process coordination is needed to fulfill customer demands while at the same time reducing idle time à consequent use of modern information and communication technology is very essential. In the implementation phase, changes were measured in two models: regional thinning events and the integration model. In the regional thinning events the following changes were recognized: The goal of a timber stack size of 50 m³ obs could not be reached, in fact, it even decreased to a size below the size of the actual state analysis The share of highly mechanized harvesting methods in total logging increased from 28 % to 37 % (goal: 35 %) The lead time could be reduced from 49 to 38 days (goal: 35 days) The accounting time (end of transport until final billing) could be reduced from 39 to 25 days (goal: 30 days) due to the installation of 4 EDP-inferfaces with customers (goal: 5 interfaces)

In 2008, Regional Forest Owner Days were held in 7 different locations, namely Kempten, Grub/Bamberg, Lohr, Ansbach, Traunstein, Bad Kötzting and Röhrnbach.
The events consisted of three conceptionally independent parts. Except from scientific speeches concerning the topic forest management, in nearly all locations there was also a professional exhibition. The target group of the forest owners therefore was addressed in a multidimensional way: with knowledge, experiences and leisure offerings.

·         Owners of very small forests could be interested in the regional forest owner days with personal invitations in cooperation with agricultural associations
The success rate of the invitations to the event altogether was 15 %
The visitors of the event most prominently remembered the exhibition, these memories exceeded the memories of the stage play and the speeches

Concerning the impact of the forest owner days on the changes in taking action of the forest owners, a dissertation found that those forest owners who were already organized in forestry associations engaged a little more in their forests after the event than those who were not members of forestry associations. They reacted faster after the event, followed contacts straight forward, took action faster in their forests and were generally more active. 

The basic idea is the processing of natural and financial data for typical forest stands and selected forest treatment alternatives after previous simulation calculations. Thereby, the question initially was limited to the depiction of the alternatives “thinning” or “without thinning”.

This prototype can be complemented with additional indicators; other areas and forest treatment strategies and therefore more data should be added and furthermore more risk integration has to be done

The sorted single tree data then were condensed to coefficients via MS Access queries. The coefficients contain information about the arising amounts of wood of the simulated treatments or rather the timber stock of the remaining stands – sorted into sorts of wood and simulation period. After feeding the data to the consultation support system, a connection to current prices for timber and timber harvesting costs was established. Based on the data from the second National Forest Inventory, the stratification of the area of the Bavarian “Tertiäres Hügelland” and the compilation of simulation stocks was carried out. Using the forest growth simulator Silva 2.2, the simulation stocks were updated once without treatment and once updated according to a thinning scheme. In the next step, the results of the simulation runs (single tree data for the remaining and the outgoing stock) were sorted according to regional sorting criteria using the sorting program BDat 2.0.

The ForestManager is an app that serves as a reminder in the management of forestland. Green areas and forests can be managed and documented with the support of GPS data. These functions offer the possibility to document observations, to take pictures, to print them, to send and to export them for further use. Moreover, it allows a comparison of historical and current data and can detect changes in the environment.

Technological assistance for the efficient management of forest areas.

The Schönbuchturm is a lookout tower east of Herrenberg in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. This walk-in wooden structure draws attention to the construction with wood. Notably is the use of regional wood (larch heartwood). The industry involved in the construction also comes from the area.
The main goals of the project are:
Regional added value / value chain
Architecture & wood usage
Public visibility

Drawing attention to the possibilities of wood construction and architecture as well as regional sustainable value chain

The thematic focus is on the sustainable design of the entire value chain in the field of (tropical) forest and (tropical) wood. A project in Germany is a digital forest monitoring. The main idea is the development of an app that collects decentralized data in the forest and consolidates them on a platform. Based on this information, the app shall automatically offer information and recommend actions. The app enables forest owners to collect data even if they do not possess subject-specific knowledge. This tool facilitates the cultivation of forest and helps to make it more efficient. Furthermore, due to the easy application, more wood can be mobilized.

Accomplishment of several projects

Providing forest service for sustainable forest management. Members are mainly private and municipal forest enterprises. The main goals are :
The commercial business objective is to optimize the revenues of forest owners by overcoming structural disadvantages through the association.
The FVS eG wants to preserve and promote regional forestry structures. This is why FVG eG mainly uses local companies to provide the offered services.
Close and trusting cooperation with customers in the sawmill and wood industry

One of the biggest forest association in Germany

·         A land-consolidation procedure aimed at reorganizing land, including forestland. During the restructuring process, mostly smaller scattered areas (fragmented land) are combined to larger and thus more effective usable areas. The reason for the previous fragmentation is the „real division“. Landscaping also includes the creation of paths, roads and waters as well as similar public facilities.
The main goals of this process are:
Better and more efficient cultivation
Maximum possible benefit for all stakeholders and public
Increase in value

Improving land occupancy

· The cooperative aims to support private forest owners and to provide a reliable source of wood to the industry. Three main goals were highlighted: Common sale of wood adapted to the industry’s needs Support of forest cultivation Increase efficiency for joint selling at fair market value Many advantages because of the positive effects due to cooperation Many advantages because of the positive effects due to cooperation