COST Action E27 Protected Forest Areas in Europe – Analysis and Harmonisation (PROFOR

Abstract

Forests cover around 11 % of the land area in Denmark. The old deciduous forests are dominated b y beech, oak and ash, but the forest area is highly fragmented, and exotic conifer species are commonly planted. More than 95 % of the forests have been managed as high forest since the late 18 th century, when forestry became organized. The first official protected forest areas were those designated as royal hunting g r ounds. A se ries of land reforms in 1780-1805 was the first large-scale initiative to protect forest areas as such, p r imar il y as a t ool to secure the national timber supply. Presently there are eight categories of protected forest areas in Denmark: Reserved forests, non-intervention forests, scientific forest reserves, protected nature types, areas with preservation claims, oak thickets, areas managed according to the strategy for natural forests, Natura 2000 sit es, nat io nal par ks and b ir d p r ot ection areas. Although monitoring of Danish forests started back in 1881, there are very few inventories specifically on protected forest types. The recent plans for the establish- ment of national parks in Denmark play an important role in the development of new and spatially connected protected forest areas. It is anticipated that future protected forest areas will move away from the concept of status quo preservations towards dynamic forest and nature areas. Moreover, future protected forest areas will be highly tied in with not only national but also international projects and co-operation. Any views or opinions expressed in this document are those of the authors and not necessarily those of any official body within the signatory states