According to the Great Area Inventory of Forests, forest complexes cover 29.6 per cent of the territory of the country’s surface, and every eighth tree is over 100 years old – informed the State Forests on the occasion of the International Forest Day.
International Day of Forests was established by the United Nations General Assembly on November 28, 2012, and is celebrated on March 21.
The State Forests points out that although forests provide fresh air, nutrient-rich food, ingredients for medicines, clean water and space for recreation, 10 million hectares of forest are lost worldwide each year, equivalent to the area of Iceland. Land degradation is also a problem, affecting nearly 2 million hectares.
The State Forests (LP) report that according to the Large Area Forest Inventory (2014-2018), forest land occupies 29.6 per cent of the surface of Poland. Since the last inventory, the area of state-managed forests has increased by 50.200 ha to 7.15 million ha. Every eighth tree in Poland is also over 100 years old.
The inventory showed that for the past ten years, the State Forest had grown an average of 9.19 cubic metres per hectare each year, 5.66 cubic metres of this timber had been harvested, and 3.63 cubic metres of timber had remained and had increased the stock.
Foresters report that more and more deadwood is being left in forests to increase biodiversity. Over the last decade, there has been an increase from approx. 5.7 cubic metres/ha to approx. 8.4 cubic metres/ha.
The State Forest added that from 2009 to 2019, there had been an increase in the proportion of deciduous species from 29.2 per cent to almost 32 per cent.
The State Forests annually plant 500 million trees in Poland, and for the needs of Polish forests, 800 million seedlings of various tree species are produced annually in forest nurseries (51 per cent coniferous species, 49 per cent deciduous tree species).