List of forests in Poland
Encyclopedia
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
as well as the Carpathian Mountains
Carpathian Mountains
The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians are a range of mountains forming an arc roughly long across Central and Eastern Europe, making them the second-longest mountain range in Europe...
in the extreme south, are much more forested than eastern and central provinces. The most forested administrative districts
Voivodeship
Voivodship is a term denoting the position of, or more commonly the area administered by, a voivod. Voivodeships have existed since medieval times in Poland, Romania, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Russia and Serbia....
of the country are: Lubusz Voivodeship
Lubusz Voivodeship
- Administrative division :Lubusz Voivodeship is divided into 14 counties : 2 city counties and 12 land counties. These are further divided into 83 gminas....
(48,9%), Subcarpathian Voivodeship
Subcarpathian Voivodeship
Podkarpackie Voivodeship , or Subcarpathian Voivodeship, is a voivodeship, or province, in extreme-southeastern Poland. Its administrative capital and largest city is Rzeszów...
(37,2%), and Pomeranian Voivodeship
Pomeranian Voivodeship
Pomeranian Voivodeship, or Pomerania Province , is a voivodeship, or province, in north-central Poland. It comprises most of Pomerelia , as well as an area east of the Vistula River...
(36,1%). The least forested are: Łódź Voivodeship (21%), Masovian Voivodeship
Masovian Voivodeship
-Administrative division:Masovian Voivodeship is divided into 42 counties : 5 city counties and 37 "land counties"...
(22,6%), and Lublin Voivodeship
Lublin Voivodeship
- Administrative division :Lublin Voivodeship is divided into 24 counties : 4 city counties and 20 land counties. These are further divided into 213 gminas....
(22,8%).
Contemporary history
At the end of the 18th century, forests covered around 40% of PolandPoland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. However, due to the 19th century economic exploitation during the partitions of Poland
Partitions of Poland
The Partitions of Poland or Partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in the second half of the 18th century and ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland for 123 years...
, as well as, the Nazi German and Soviet occupations between 1939–1945 with trees shipped to battle fronts across Europe, deforestation
Deforestation
Deforestation is the removal of a forest or stand of trees where the land is thereafter converted to a nonforest use. Examples of deforestation include conversion of forestland to farms, ranches, or urban use....
and slash and burn conditions of war shrank Polish forests to only 21% of total area of the country (as of 1946). Furthermore, rich deciduous trees were replaced with fast growing coniferous trees of lesser value meant for commerce, such as pine. After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the government of Poland initiated the National Plan of Afforestation. By 1970, forests covered 29% of the country. As of 2009 – 29,1% of Poland's territory was forested, amounting to 9,088,000 hectare
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
s. It is estimated that by 2050, the total area of forested land should increase to 33%.
As much as 81,8% of the Polish forests are state-owned, majority (77,8%) by Polish State Forests (Lasy Panstwowe), 2% constitute Polish National Forests protected zones, 2% are owned by other governmental entities (such as local self-government or the Agricultural Property Agency) and 18,2% belong to private owners. High percentage of Polish forests owned by the state is the result of nationalization
Nationalization
Nationalisation, also spelled nationalization, is the process of taking an industry or assets into government ownership by a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to private assets, but may also mean assets owned by lower levels of government, such as municipalities, being...
of forests that occurred in the aftermath of World War II
Aftermath of World War II
After World War II a new era of tensions emerged based on opposing ideologies, mutual distrust between nations, and a nuclear arms race. This emerged into an environment dominated by a international balance of power that had changed significantly from the status quo before the war...
when Poland became a communist state
Communist state
A communist state is a state with a form of government characterized by single-party rule or dominant-party rule of a communist party and a professed allegiance to a Leninist or Marxist-Leninist communist ideology as the guiding principle of the state...
(see People's Republic of Poland
People's Republic of Poland
The People's Republic of Poland was the official name of Poland from 1952 to 1990. Although the Soviet Union took control of the country immediately after the liberation from Nazi Germany in 1944, the name of the state was not changed until eight years later...
) under the Soviet sphere of influence.
Inhabitation
Forest in Poland occupy the poorest soil. Coniferous type accounts for 54.5%, whereas broadleaved type accounts for 45.5% (out of that, alderAlder
Alder is the common name of a genus of flowering plants belonging to the birch family . The genus comprises about 30 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, few reaching large size, distributed throughout the North Temperate Zone and in the Americas along the Andes southwards to...
and riparian forests account for 3.8%). A number of forested zones are now protected by the Polish government and, in many cases, they have become tourist destinations. Over the years, many of the largest Polish forests have been reduced in size, and that reflected on the structure of forest inhabitation.
Up until the end of the 18th Century, beginning in what is known as the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, forests were considered places for travelers and ordinary folk to stay away from, as they contained bandits, primitive opportunists and evil spirits. Law and order did not apply to forests for many centuries, except for self-policing observed and administered by their inhabitants. However, the forests did contain numerous woodsmen and their families who made the best of their remote environment. These woodsmen lived on what the forest could produce, collecting pitch resin
Pitch (resin)
Pitch is the name for any of a number of viscoelastic, solid polymers. Pitch can be made from petroleum products or plants. Petroleum-derived pitch is also called bitumen. Pitch produced from plants is also known as resin. Products made from plant resin are also known as rosin.Pitch was...
for sale – important as method of illuminating city streets – logging construction lumber
Lumber
Lumber or timber is wood in any of its stages from felling through readiness for use as structural material for construction, or wood pulp for paper production....
, collecting lime
Lime (mineral)
Lime is a general term for calcium-containing inorganic materials, in which carbonates, oxides and hydroxides predominate. Strictly speaking, lime is calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide. It is also the name for a single mineral of the CaO composition, occurring very rarely...
, bees wax, honey
Honey
Honey is a sweet food made by bees using nectar from flowers. The variety produced by honey bees is the one most commonly referred to and is the type of honey collected by beekeepers and consumed by humans...
, hops
Hops
Hops are the female flower clusters , of a hop species, Humulus lupulus. They are used primarily as a flavoring and stability agent in beer, to which they impart a bitter, tangy flavor, though hops are also used for various purposes in other beverages and herbal medicine...
, mushrooms and whatever other saleable items could be harvested in the forest and sold in villages outside of it.
Families of the woodsmen produced their own food through gardening and hunting, as well as their own clothing. In some cases, their sewing of intricate laces became well known outside the forest, resulting in additional family income. Because of their isolation from society in general, woodsmen and their families developed their own style of dress, music, sewing, dialect, celebrations, and the type of dwellings. The Masovia woodsmen for example, known as Kurpie
Kurpie
Kurpie is one of a number of ethnic regions in Poland, noted for its unique traditional customs, such as its own types of traditional costume, traditional dance, and distinctive type of architecture and livelihoods...
people, who lived in the forested region known in Poland as the White Wilderness (Puszcza Biała) and the Green Wilderness, still proudly proclaim and celebrate their unique culture and customs.
List of Polish forest complexes
A- Puszcza Augustowska (Augustów Primeval ForestAugustów Primeval ForestAugustów Primeval Forest is a large virgin forest complex located in Poland as well as in northern Belarus and southeastern Lithuania. The forest covers about 1,600 km², of which 1,140 km² is in Poland....
)
B
- Puszcza Biała (White Wilderness or White Forest)
- Białowieża Forest, UNESCOUNESCOThe United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
World Heritage SiteWorld Heritage SiteA UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance... - Puszcza Bydgoska (Bydgoszcz Forest) near Bydgoszcz
- Puszcza Bukowa (Beech Forest) near SzczecinSzczecinSzczecin , is the capital city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in Poland. It is the country's seventh-largest city and the largest seaport in Poland on the Baltic Sea. As of June 2009 the population was 406,427....
.
D
- Bory Dolnośląskie (Lower SilesiaLower SilesiaLower Silesia ; is the northwestern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia; Upper Silesia is to the southeast.Throughout its history Lower Silesia has been under the control of the medieval Kingdom of Poland, the Kingdom of Bohemia and the Austrian Habsburg Monarchy from 1526...
Forest)
K
- Puszcza Kampinoska (Kampinos ForestKampinos ForestKampinos Forest is a large forest complex located to the west of Warsaw in Poland. It covers a large part of the ancient valley of Vistula, between Vistula and Bzura rivers. Once a gigantic forest covering 670 km² of central Poland, it currently covers roughly 240 km².Most of the...
) - Knyszyn Forest (Puszcza Knyszyńska Landscape ParkPuszcza Knyszynska Landscape ParkPuszcza Knyszyńska Landscape Park is a protected area in north-eastern Poland, established in 1988, covering an area of ....
) - KrajnaKrajnaKrajna is a forested historical region in Poland, situated in the border area between the Greater Poland, Kuyavian-Pomeranian and Pomeranian Voivodeships...
, part of Greater Poland VoivodeshipGreater Poland VoivodeshipWielkopolska Voivodeship , or Greater Poland Voivodeship, is a voivodeship, or province, in west-central Poland. It was created on 1 January 1999 out of the former Poznań, Kalisz, Konin, Piła and Leszno Voivodeships, pursuant to the Polish local government reforms adopted in 1998... - Puszcza KurpiowskaPuszcza KurpiowskaPuszcza Kurpiowska or Kurpiowska Forest, is the collective name of Poland's two wilderness areas: Puszcza Biała and Puszcza Zielona , located in the central basin of Narew and Kurpiowska Plain. It is bound by the rivers: Pisa , Narew and Orzyc . The north-end reaches the former border with East...
, collective name of Puszcza Biała and Puszcza ZielonaPuszcza ZielonaPuszcza Zielona is a forest in Poland which extends from the Narew River and the border of what was once East Prussia. It is bounded on the east by the Pisa River and on the west by the Orzyc River...
.
N
- Puszcza Niepołomicka (Niepołomice Forest)
- Puszcza Notecka (Notec Forest) near the Lubuskie Lake District.
O
- Oliwa forestsOliwa forestsOliwa forests are forests located in Gdańsk.The total area is 60 km².The forests belonged to the monastery in Oliwa since 1188. Just after First Partition of Poland, on November 1, 1772, King of Prussia took over the forests....
in the Gdańsk district.
P
- Puszcza Piaskowa (Piasek Forest) in the Odra valley near CedyniaCedyniaCedynia is a town in Poland, in West Pomeranian Voivodeship, in Gryfino County. It lies close to the Oder River, near the border with Germany, and is the westernmost town in Poland...
. - Puszcza PiskaPuszcza PiskaPuszcza Piska Forest or the Pisz Forest is the largest forest complex of the Masuria region in northern Poland, adjacent to the Masurian Landscape Park, and the Masurian Lowlands...
(Pisz Forest) - Pomeranian Forest
R
- Puszcza Romincka (Romincka ForestRomincka ForestRomincka Forest or Krasny Les , a palaearctic ecoregion in the Taiga and boreal forests Biome, is located in Russia and Poland....
)
S
- Las Szpęgawski (Szpęgawski ForestSzpegawski ForestSzpęgawski Forest is a forest located north of the town of Starogard Gdański, Pomeranian Voivodeship, northern Poland. The area was the site of a Nazi German mass murder and mass graves of 7000 Poles, among them 1680 Kocborowo and Świecie psychiatric hospitals patients, murdered during World War...
)
T
- Bory Tucholskie (Tuchola ForestTuchola ForestThe Tuchola Forest is a large forest near the town of Tuchola in northern Poland, and lies between the Brda and Wda Rivers. It contains the Tuchola Forest National Park, which is at the core of the Tuchola Forest Biosphere Reserve, designated by UNESCO in 2010.- Landscape :The area was formed...
) in the Pomeranian Lake District.
U
- Ueckermünder HeideUeckermünder HeideUeckermünder Heide is a 1.000 km² large area of forest and heath in North Eastern Germany at the Oder river and the Szczecin Lagoon. Since 1945, the eastern part belongs to Poland, called Puszcza Wkrzańska...
(Puszcza Wkrzańska) shared by GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and Poland
W
- Puszcza Wkrzańska (Ueckermünder HeideUeckermünder HeideUeckermünder Heide is a 1.000 km² large area of forest and heath in North Eastern Germany at the Oder river and the Szczecin Lagoon. Since 1945, the eastern part belongs to Poland, called Puszcza Wkrzańska...
)
Z
- Puszcza ZielonaPuszcza ZielonaPuszcza Zielona is a forest in Poland which extends from the Narew River and the border of what was once East Prussia. It is bounded on the east by the Pisa River and on the west by the Orzyc River...
(Green Wilderness) - Puszcza Zielonka (Puszcza Zielonka Landscape ParkPuszcza Zielonka Landscape ParkPuszcza Zielonka Landscape Park is a protected area situated to the north-east of the city of Poznań in Greater Poland Voivodeship, Poland. It was set up in 1993 and covers an area of . It is made up of parts of the gminas of Czerwonak, Kiszkowo, Murowana Goślina, Pobiedziska and Skoki...
)