The proposed project brings together five partner institutions in countries with substantial shares of coppice forests and intensive research experience in coppice forest management. The consortium provides the unique opportunity to review extensively the state of coppice forests and their management from first hand for substantial parts of the coppice area in South-East Europe. Beyond reviewing the state of the art in coppice silviculture a regional stakeholder analysis will identify demands and preferences towards coppice forest management.

The project will utilize the facilities provided by up-to-date knowledge management methods employing web based discussion for a to prepare the selected topics which are then consolidated during a workshop in Bulgaria. Here, exchange missions of mainly Master students will be discussed and implemented until the end of the project. Major formal product of the activities will be a Proceedings Book to be published as Special Issue of Silva Balcanica as well as a joint manuscript for a international SCI journal on state and prospects of coppice forest management in South-East Europe.

  

• to organize and guide the compilation of knowledge and data on coppice forests and their management in the partner countries via the web forum.
  • to set up the web-forum
    • to prepare a user manual for using the tool (e.g., the online discussions, upload of documents)
    • to maintain the tool throughout the entire project life cycle
  • to organize the discussion on the web according to
    • State of coppice forest management in South-Eastern and Central Europe
    • Stakeholder analysis for coppice forest management
    • Options for future management of coppice Forests
    • Coppice forests and wood processing industries
    • Inventory, experimental design and planning tools in coppice forests
  • to moderate and guide the discussion on the web
    • to structure and initialize the online discussions on the web
    • to determine the session moderators
    • to take care of appropriate representation of stakeholders in the discussion groups
    • to monitor the progress towards project deliverables
  • to ensure an efficient compilation of material on the discussion topics (reports, articles, books, data, etc.)
  
  
• to organize and convene the consolidating workshop in Bulgaria
  • to organize the workshop
  • to prepare materials for the field trip
  • to synthesize the outcomes of the online discussions
  
  
• to synthesize and disseminate the knowledge gathered during the project
  • to compile a Book of Proceedings to be published in “Silva Balcanica” based on the output of the discussion groups and the consolidating workshop
  • to submit a joint multi-author manuscript to an international SCI Journal on state prospects of coppice forest management in Central and South-Eastern Europe