calamity
The term calamity is derived from the Greek καλάμη kalámē for stalk and from this Latin calamitas with the original meaning “misgrowth of the grain ”. This term was used more generally in ancient times for any general "evil".
Since the Thirty Years' War , the German translation calamity has accordingly been describing a major (particularly public) misfortune , malady or emergency. Those affected by a calamity and those who had an accident were referred to as calamitoses .
Forest calamities
In particular is known as a calamity in the forestry and forest science a mass disease of forest holdings , which could lead to widespread outages and are therefore usually associated with economic consequences for humans. Monocultures and age-group forests in particular are affected by calamities. Often these are triggered by mass reproductions of herbivores . In this context, for example, bark beetles -, nuns -, Kiefer owls or - gypsy moth -Kalamitäten spoken. Abiotic damage such as storm damage or snow breakage are also referred to as calamities.
The occurrence of major calamities is associated with disruptions in the planned management. Depending on the extent of the damage, the inventory or operational planning is no longer necessary. Changed cutting rates will be used until new usage plans are available. Coping with major calamities usually also means major challenges in terms of workforce planning, logistics and wood sales planning. The processing of calamity wood is often associated with particular dangers for the forest workers deployed and requires compliance with special regulations for accident prevention . Calamities often result in forest protection risks, for example due to the multiplication of harmful organisms in the calamity year or in the following years, or due to reduced physical stability (torn forest stands are susceptible to wind). Therefore, after the occurrence of calamities, emphasis should be placed on reducing the risks of subsequent calamities.
literature
- Fritz Schwerdtfeger : The forest diseases. Textbook of forest pathology and forest protection . 4th, revised edition, Parey, Hamburg and Berlin 1981, ISBN 3-490-09116-7 .
