Jens P. Skovsgaard – författare

The recent debate on forest decline and possible climatic changes emphasized the need of growth studies. In the 1980s several studies reported a reduction of forest growth, whereas other studies resulted in quite opposite findings. A study conducted under the auspices of the European Forest Institute (EFI) on forest resources in Europe between 1950 and 1990 showed a remarkable increase in growing stock. In 1993 EFI started a follow-up project on "Growth Trends in European Forests", which focused on the evaluation of available data at the European level. This publication presents the results of the project compiling studies in 12 European countries. Summarizing the individual studies, an increasing growth trend can be observed in most cases, apart from some specific sites.

The European Forest Institute (EFI) has five Research and Development priority ar­ eas: forest sustainability, forestry and possible climate change, structural changes in markets for forest products and services, policy analysis, and forest sector informa­ tion services and research methodology. In the area of forest sustainability our most important activity has been the project "Growth trends of European forests", the re­ sults of which are presented in this book. The project was started in August 1993 under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Heinrich Spiecker from the University of Freiburg, Germany, and it is one of the first EFI''s research projects after its establishment in 1993. The main purpose of the project was to analyse whether site productivity has changed in European forests during the last decades. While several forest growth studies have been published at local, re­ gional and national levels, this project has aimed at stimulating a joint effort in iden­ tifying and quantifying possible growth trends and their spatial and temporal extent at the European level. Debate on forest decline and possible climate change, as well as considerations re­ lated to the long term supply of wood underline the importance of this project, both from environmental and industrial points of view. Knowledge on possible changes in growth trends is vital for the sustainable management of forest ecosystems.