ZLV Online

Abstract

Presented literature review summarizes the knowledge about the issue of historical development of selection silvicultural system in Europe. It describes the selection system as a way to manage the forests that was connected until the first half of the 19th century mainly with not regulated tree harvesting and the overexploitation of forests. Only in some mountain regions with higher proportion of fir, the selection systém was appplied in a sustainable way with the single tree selection. Especially the forests in these regions became in following period the model for the foundation of selection silvicultural system on scientific basis. The largest expansion of selection system was recorded in the first half of the 20th century. After World War II, the interest in this silvicultural system gradually started to decrease, except the traditional regions of its origin. Currently we can observe the increasing popularity of selection forests that in the changing environmental conditions are assumed to be ecologically and economically more stable alternative to even-aged monoculture stands.