Forest conditions and management under rapid legislation change in Romania

Abstract

This paper evaluates the effects of post-communist economic transition on forest resources in Romania. Using data from 1993 and 2003, our research describes a sample of forested landscape units based on seven environmental attributes. These attributes were then compared to four technical attributes associated with forest management planning. The comparative analysis revealed that many forest stand attributes were significantly affected between 1993 and 2003, potentially by the forest ownership change, while most of the forest management attributes were not. Our results suggest that a dramatic change in forestry legislation does not necessarily result in a dramatic change in the descriptive characteristics of forest resources in that jurisdiction but, rather, in the structure of the forest. Key words: economic transition, Eastern Europe, forestry, policy, non-parametric statistics