106 KURT HOLZER 



WOOD -VOLUME PRODUCTION 



Because of the good and long-lasting diameter growth, wood volume pro- 

 duction of these white pines is satisfactory in most cases, especially where 

 considering that the environmental conditions in their natural areas tend 

 to restrict growth. The basal stem gives especially good yields when it 

 reaches its best age. There are as yet no yield tables for Swiss stone 

 pine, but the comparison with the values for P. sibirica or P. peuce, 

 classes IV and V (Hempel and Jung, 1968; Nedjalkov, 1963, respectively), 

 gives usable values for yield. Production is especially high in single 

 trees with full crowns, as common in the alpine distribution. The com- 

 parison with the yield tables of alpine Picea abies (Frauendorfer, 1954, 

 after Guttenberg) shows that higher in the mountains P. cembra gives 

 better yields than Picea abies. We find a distinct change for the 

 better as we ascend in elevation: at the lowest distribution of P. cembra 

 where it grows slowly, Picea abies gives much better production; at the 

 transition area the production is about the same for both species; and 

 in the principal zone of P. cembra its production is better than that of 

 Picea abies. The trees at timberline and above — especially single trees- 

 are growing slower and give less production; in many cases stems are forked 

 in both species, so that there is still no wood harvest in this zone. 

 However, man is glad to have any tree growth at all in this area. 



WOOD QUALITY AND USES 



The wood of both P. cembra and P. peuce has the same qualities that 

 wood of white pines share in common. It is light in weight (sp.gr. about 

 0.41-0.43, when dry) and does not shrink much (2.4% from fresh to dry 

 wood, Figala, 1927; Nedjalkov, 1963). The wood is easily worked and so 

 it is used for carving, and often for barrels and buckets. Because of 

 its nice structure it is also used for furniture and for sashes and doors 

 or interior trim in lodgings. Many other uses of former times are not 

 common now, because the worth of this wood is too great. The value of a 

 Pinus cembra stem, for example, is about 3 to 6 times higher than the 

 value of the same size saw-timber of Picea abies or Pinus sylvestris , 

 and for sawmill usage exceeds about $40-$70 per m 3 (i.e., 424 bd ft). 

 This value is possible only because of specialty demand, but it takes the 

 tree a good many years to reach suitable dimensions. 



IMPORTANCE OF EUROPEAN WHITE PINES FOR MOUNTAINOUS FORESTRY 



The great importance of native European white pines is a result of 

 their adaptability to subalpine climate and their use as protection woods. 

 In Austria a group of scientists is working on ecological and physiological 

 problems of P. cembra (many papers by these workers are given in publica- 

 tions of the Forstliche Bundesversuchsanstalt , 1961, 1963, 1965, 1967). 

 These papers show the great importance- -but also the great difficulties-- 

 of managing P. cembra in the alpine valleys. Many thousands of ha could 

 be reforested with this species to protect lands and people against 

 avalanches and flash floods. It should be possible to restore P. cembra 

 to the forest area it occupied 200 and more years ago (at least 100,000 ha) 

 many trees since have been cut down to increase pastureland. This species 

 is nearly the only one that is able to grow high up in the subalpine zone 

 of the Alps and the Carpathian Mountains, sometimes 200 and more meters 

 above present timberline (Forstliche Bundesversuchsanstalt, 1967; 



