Cost of Regeneration of Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) Crops in National Forests

Silvicultural processes are an essential issue of rational forest management. Both man-made (artificial) and natural restoration methods are used in European forestry. A study of the cost drivers of forest restoration from the early stages of land clearing to cultivation was conducted for Scots pine tracts in a coniferous forest habitat. The cost data were tested for homogeneity of variance (Levene's test) and normality (Shapiro-Wilk test) using a significance level of alpha = 0.05. The research indicated that the cost of artificial restoration (planting) of a pine forest is about 30% higher than the cost of natural restoration. The research also indicated that the main cost driver (about 35%) of the artificial restoration process was seedlings and planting costs. Further, the viability of supplementing natural planting with artificial planting was confirmed.