Until the late 19th century, manorial estates were leading the tar making trade in Estonia. It has been especially widespread in the west-Estonian archipelago. Tar has been used both as an impregnating agent and as a medicine. Use has also been made of by-products of the process: turpentine,...

Alternatives to the restoration of cutaway peatlands include afforestation, energy forests, agricultural production, wetland restoration (restoration of peat-accumulating function), reed canary grass (energy mower) or wild berries (blueberry, cranberry) cultivation, protected area for birds, and...

In the pre-WWII period picking forest berries and mushrooms provided livelihood for about 3,000-4,500 people, depending on the rate of unemployment. Despite the complexity of preservation conditions, forest berry exports thrived. In Soviet times, berry picking was stimulated by a well-functioning...

Non-timber forest use dates back to the Gatherers' Age (picking of berries, mushrooms, nuts and forest herbs). Grazing, haymaking and beekeeping on wooded lands are age-old non-timber forest uses, which to some extent have been subject to regulation and accounting. Following World War II,...

This issue contains 11 articles on the concepts on non-timber forest products in Estonia. These papers discuss topics including the correlation between non-timber forest use and forestry-related cultural heritage, non-timber forest use in state forests, evolution of different ways of non-timber...

The meaning of the term "non-timber use" has varied only in minor details over the last century, designating, as a rule, all the non-timber benefits obtained from forest. Of the internal factors, the intensity of non-timber use has been impacted the most by the changes in the social structure....

The total number of the plant species used as medicinal herbs in Estonia throughout the times amounts to half a thousand while that used by one individual is a couple dozens at average and is region-specific. The same is true of the use of tea plants and herbs, depending first of all on the...

To limit the emissions of greenhouse gases the wider utilization of renewable energy is mandatory for all EU countries. The aim of the present study was to estimate the potential quantities of harvesting residues as a source of renewable fuel. The sample plots were selected to cover the majority of ...

Energy demand is constantly increasing, and therefore new alternative energy sources are sought to meet the strict growth and environmental demands. One solution for the problem is the promotion of the use of renewable energy resources of physical and biological origin, such as hydro, wind, wave,...