Concept of sustainable forest management evaluation in the forestry planning at the forest management unit level: Some experiences, problems and suggestions from Slovenian forestry

The importance of sustainable forest management (SFM) in the forest planning procedure is explained, with the focus on three major points: (1) considering the sustainability principles in the forestry planning; (2) defining indicators of SFM at the forest management unit (FMU) level; and (3) defining reference values and some dilemmas of their use. The sustainability principles have to be integrated in all planning phases and respected in the implementation of planned activities. SFM evaluation is an important part of forestry planning. For SFM evaluation, two approaches are of equal importance, as they supplement each other: (1) comparison of actual and reference indicator values; and (2) monitoring of forest development and analyses of previous forest management. SFM indicators can be divided into three groups: (1) indicators of ecosystem condition; (2) treatment indicators; and (3) indicators of economic, social and organisational conditions. The efficiency of SFM evaluation depends on many facts: how reference values are determined; how they are understood; and how they will be applied in the decision making. Reference values can be defined either by adequate researches or through experiences in the adapted forest management. Reference values have to be adapted to site conditions, stand structure and composition, and above all, to management goals. They have to be understood as frame values.