This article reviewed studies from Germany, Russia, Lithuania, Sweden and Finland about wolf trees in Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) forests and examined the definition of a wolf tree. In addition, we analyzed the main traits and parameters of these trees, such as lower crown ratio, more conical stem taper, partly deformed crown, and thicker and longer branches. The analysis revealed changes in the definition of a wolf tree during the XX century and different definitions over various regions. The differences between wolf trees and common trees were found in growth patterns, stress sensitivity and genetics. Also this article reviewed several possible reasons for the occurrence of wolf trees in forest stands.

Keywords: b-type trees, tree development, morphological types, competition, crown form, growth patterns, thinning.

   The physical properties of forest tree seeds are an important consideration in seed cleaning and sorting processes. In order to determine variations in and correlations between the pairs of the following parameters: the terminal velocity, thickness, width, length, mass and angle of static friction on steel were measured for seeds of seven deciduous tree species (common beech, copper beech, common hornbeam, small-leaved lime, black locust, mountain ash and grey alder). The results of measurements were processed statistically by correlation analysis and linear regression analysis. Seed mass was most highly correlated and angle of static friction was least correlated with the remaining parameters. The highest value of the correlation coefficient and the equation with the highest value of the coefficient of determination were reported for the relationship between the mass and terminal velocity of small-leaved lime seeds. In view of the above, a pneumatic separator is recommended for separating seeds of the above tree species. A pneumatic separator is also an effective device for separating the seeds of common hornbeam and grey alder. Common beech and mountain ash seeds should be separated with the use of mesh screens, and copper beech and black locust seeds should be separated with the use of a seed grader.

Keywords: seeds, physical properties, processing, seed quality.

This paper studies firm failure causes in the forest sector and is based on a thorough analysis of 50 bankruptcy cases from Estonia. The results indicate that in the forest sector in more than a half of the occasions firm failure was triggered by either only internal or external reasons. Namely, for 26% of cases bankruptcy was caused by only internal reasons, for 30% by only external reasons and for 44% by both reasons. The most common causes noted in court judgments were concentration on only a few customers (resulting in cessation of cooperation or unpaid claims), unfavourable market developments (drop in demand or in product prices and increase in competition or in input factor prices), lengthy unprofitable activities, lack of working capital, too low share of equity or inability to find additional financial resources, and management errors.

Keywords: forest sector, firm failure, bankruptcy causes.

   Year by year, the production and transportation of wood chips have increased in Estonia. The maximum gross weight of a road train is 44 tons, hence it is not feasible to use trailers with a capacity of more than 90 m³ because the moisture content of wood chips varies considerably and it is forbidden to exceed the weight restriction. As the majority of wood chips is cut right by the road side in Estonia, the entire process depends greatly on the weather and affects also the vehicle fuel consumption, since high precipitation and extremely variable temperatures (-25 °C...+30 °C) result in changing road conditions. Consequently, the goal of the case study was defined as to analyse the price formation of wood chips transportation in Estonian conditions. Within one year, all expenses related to a total of 9 vehicles on fuel, manpower and spare parts were examined. The vehicles were divided into 3 groups according to their transport routes. All vehicles were equipped with a GPRS tracking system that provides information on fuel consumption, working hours, driving speed and itinerary in real time and this data were later used to obtain a detailed overview. The fuel consumption varied between vehicles with different transport routes throughout the whole year. The group of vehicles with the lowest fuel consumption included three-axle trucks and the largest item of expenditure was fuel. However, transportation of wood chips with two-axle trucks proved to be the least expensive, because, considering total expenditure, the cost of one travelled kilometre was the lowest.

Keywords: wood chips, transport, production cost.