Wood pastures with pollard trees have been a common land-use type across Europe. The trees, besides having positive environmental effects on livestock, served as important source of fodder and wood. Pollarded wood pastures were hence a multifunctional, state of the art, highly productive farming ecosystems. Despite relatively drastic treatment, the trees regenerated quite well, and grew to relatively high-age. When pollarding lapses for longer period the wood pasture may confusingly resemble an ancient forest. Using aerial photographs of Slovakia from 1949-1950 we have identified 950 individual wood pasture localities with total area of 265.5 km 2 within the Self-Governing Region of Banská Bystrica. Majority of identified wood pasture habitats were actively managed in the first half of the 20th century. Nowadays, less than 2.5% has preserved its original structure, the rest has been abandoned (92.8%) or actively transformed into different land-use form. We conducted a field survey in order to identify historical pollarding within the Gavurky protected area, one of the last and best preserved wood pastures in Slovakia. By evaluating habitual features, we were able to confirm historical pollarding for more than 80% of present veteran trees. We provide framework for identification of pollarding in historical wood pasture localities, applicable in the conditions of long-term management cessation.

Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco), one of the most commercially important tree species in western North America and one of the most valuable timber trees worldwide, was introduced to Europe in 1827. It became a major species for afforestation in Western Europe after WWII, currently grows in 35 countries on over 0.83 million ha and is one of the most widespread non-native tree species across the continent. A lower sensitivity to drought makes Douglas-fir a potential alternative to the more drought-sensitive Norway spruce so its importance in Europe is expected to increase in the future. It is one of the fastest growing conifer species cultivated in Europe, with the largest reported dimensions of 2.3 m in diameter and 67.5 m in height. Pure stands have high productivity (up to 20 m3 ha-1a-1) and production (over 1000 m3 ha-1). The species is generally regenerated by planting (initial stocking density from less than 1000 seedlings ha-1 to more than 4000 ha-1), using seedlings of European provenance derived from seed orchards or certified seed stands. As the range of end-uses of its wood is very wide, the rotation period of Douglas-fir is highly variable and ranges between 40 and 120 years. When the production of large-sized, knot-free timber is targeted, thinnings are always coupled with pruning up to 6 m. There is an increasing interest in growing Douglas-fir in mixtures and managing stands through close-to-nature silviculture, but the species’ intermediate shade tolerance means that it is best managed through group selection or shelterwood systems.

The town of Zvolen was founded on an ancient trade route. Forests occupy more than half of its cadastral district and nearly a half the area is expected to be a recreational zone according to a urban planning documentation. The article focuses on the forest quality assessment using criteria (A and VA) indicating forest values and their accessibility from town centre, primarily by pedestrians: the forest accessibility (A) (the quality of peri-urban zone; the accessibility by greenways; the presence of natural and urban barriers) and forest values (VA) (natural heritage and biodiversity; cultural and historical heritage; hiking trails; educational pathways and greenways). To accomplish this objective the importance of criteria was assigned for each one and the evaluation was proceeded within a decision matrix. Access to forests was tested on 13 greenways; forests were accessible from the town centre by 6 greenways overlapping hiking trails in a distance of 11.85 km (30.09 %) and historical roads in a distance of 6.28 km (15.96 %); 2 greenways exhibited the shortest distances and the most comfortable connection from the town centre to the most valuable forests (the Borová Hora Arboretum and municipal forests in surroundings of the Deserted Castle). Additionally, we pointed out, that these forests corresponded with the most popular place-based identity localities. According to the results, we noticed a reserve for the improvement of recreational facilities in forests and a hiking trail was proposed in the forest bearing the highest quality. The establishment of a functional greenbelt in the vicinity of the town is challenging opportunity to valorise still underestimated cultural and tourism potential of surrounding forests.

The main objective of this study was to assess the growth of the established Paulownia cotevisa plantation during an extended time period and compare it with values reviewed in the literature. Seven years after planting, mean diameter at breast height and height of the aboveground part of P. cotevisa 2^® (P. cotevisa) plantation were similar to values reported in the literature and they reached 21.5 cm and 11.2 m, respectively. Besides the crown damage caused by wind, development of the P. cotevisa plantation established in the Danubian Lowland was not affected by any other harmful environmental factor or biological pest. The results suggest that P. cotevisa could be used to a larger extent in diversification of biomass production on abandoned arable lands of the Danubian Lowland.

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