Forestry

Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia (SORS)

Agriculture and Forestry Division 

Velibor Lazarević

Statistician

5 Milana Rakića, Belgrade

velibor.lazarevic@stat.gov.rs

+381 11 2412922 ext. 345

+381 11 2410397

Forestry statistics provides data on the state of forests in Serbia in terms of their surface representation, exploitation, logging (expressed in wood volume), afforestation in Serbia, damage to the forests, construction objects, roads and mechanization used during the year for forestry works, number of game, structure and number of hunting staff, data on hunting buildings and facilities, as well as general data on hunting grounds and hunters.

Classification of economic activities - KD (2010), ("Official Gazette of RS" No. 104/09), based on the NACE Rev. 2 classification. 2 (Statistical Classification of Economic Activities in the European Community, Rev. 2).

Public forest management companies, public enterprises of national parks, commercial entities established by the Republic of Serbia or autonomous province, public companies founded by local administrations, religious communities and owners (private owners) of forests are included.

Forest represents an area covered with forest trees, with minimal surface area of 5 acres and a minimum of 30% tree crown soil coverage.

High forests are those originated mainly from seeds.

Coppices are forests originated mainly from stumps and shoots.

Other categories of forests are scrubs, maquis, shrubberies, and beech forests.

Scrubs are devastated coppices of small growth and stunted trees mostly used for livestock grazing and browsing.

Shrubberies are devastated coppices with bushes prevailing.

Beech forests are those which are mainly used for leaves cutting.

Total wood stock (gross volume) covers felled industrial, technical wood and fuel wood – all manufactured forest assortments and total residue, hence representing the total volume of wood stock measured on stump.

Industrial wood has favorable physical and chemical properties, and is intended for industrial (mechanical and chemical) processing.

Technical wood has favorable physical and chemical properties, and is intended for various technical purposes.

Tending and land reclamation of forests comprise works in high forests and coppices, intended to improve the quality of stands.

Statistical units are: forest holdings, companies founded by the Republic of Serbia or an autonomous province, public enterprises founded by local administrations and religious communities, where a separate form (questionnaire) is filled out for each territory of the municipality.

The targets are all forest holdings and other organizations where forestry is a subsidiary activity.

Reference area is Republic of Serbia.

Notes: Since 1999 Statistical Office of the Republic Of Serbia does not have access to information for the specific data for AP Kosovo and Metohia and these data  are not included in the data for the Republic of Serbia (total)

   Data in the current form of publication (with minor changes) are available since 1963.

In the SORS publication- „Monthly Statistical Bulletin”, the following indices of production are published:

In the SORS publications "Annual statistical releases", for the published annual index, the base period is the previous year.

In the SORS publication "Statistical Yearbook of the Republic of Serbia", for the published index of physical volume of sales, the base period is the fifth year before the reference year.

 The data refer to the calendar year, 2016.

The Statistical Office of the Republic is the responsible producer of relevant data. Data are provided on the basis of the Decree on Establishment in the Official Statistics Plan for the reference year, in accordance with the Law on Official Statistics ("Official Gazette of RS", fight 104/09).

Data represent official statistics and serve to meet national and international needs.

Individual data represent official statistical data and as such are secrets and are subject to special protection, which is provided at all stages of the realization of the research. The confidentiality of individual data is guaranteed by the law on official statistics. Any misuse of official statistical data entails misdemeanor liability, in accordance with the Law.

Individual data is published only in aggregated form.

The data are published on the SORS website and in the publications of the SORS, according to the Calendar of Publications.

 The publication calendar for the reference year is published on the SORS website and can be accessed via the following link:                        http://www.stat.gov.rs/en-US/calendar

Data is available to users in equal conditions, in electronic or printed form, for free of charge. In addition, additional processing for specific user requirements is possible. The manner of using and providing data produced by SORS is regulated by the Rulebook on the manner of using and providing data produced by the Statistical office of The Republic of Serbia, adopted by the Director of the SORS in accordance with the Law on Official Statistics and the Law on State Administration ("Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia" ', No. 79/05).

Data for national purposes are published in a monthly, yearly, biennial and three-year periodicity.

No press release is envisaged.

The data can be found in the complex publication of the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia, Statistical Yearbook of the Republic of Serbia, Regions and Municipalities in Serbia, Monthly Statistical Bulletin, Press releases of the Statistical office od The Republic of Serbia and Bulletin Forestry.

The data published on the site can be accessed free of charge via the following link:

http://data.stat.gov.rs/?languageCode=en-US

Data is available to users only in aggregate form, in accordance with the law

There is no other form of dissemination.

The short instructions for completing the questionnaire are on the questionnaires themselves.

For information on Quality Reports, look at the concept Quality assurance.

The general quality assurance framework is defined by the Declaration of Quality, ie Quality Policy, which can be accessed through the following link:

http://www.stat.gov.rs/media/2334/quality-policy.pdf

Quality control is carried out at all stages of data production. First of all, checking the coverage and updating the address book of the reporting units is done. In the first phase of the questionnaire control, the completeness and accuracy of the completed questionnaires is checked. Further, the data is controlled during input through the IST program, according to the defined criteria of logical and calculation control.

Data quality can be assessed as satisfactory.

The first users of the data are the Ministry of Agriculture - Forestry Administration, Ministry of Environmental Protection, Environmental Agency, Forestry Institute, Faculty of Forestry, other institutions and institutes, journalists, students and other individuals.

When defining the content of the questionnaire in the field of forestry statistics, representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture - Forestry Administration, Faculty of Forestry and other scientific institutions in the field of forestry were consulted.

A general user satisfaction survey is conducted every two years and the results are available on the SORS website. There is no special research regarding the data users' satisfaction in the field of forestry.

The data meet national needs. There is no separate Regulation (EC) regulating this statistical area.

Data is obtained by the complete coverage of the reporting units. The accuracy of the data can be assessed as satisfactory.

Not relevant.

For national purposes monthly data are published up to 60 days from the end of the reference month. Annual data - previous results are published up to 150 days, and final up to 270 days after the end of the reference year. Biannual and triennual data are published up to 270 days after the end of the reference year.

The data are published in a timely manner, in accordance with the defined deadlines.

A monthly survey on forest assortments production in the forests in state ownership of the reporting unit is obliged to deliver a completed form by the 20th of the month for the previous month.

Annual survey afforestation and cultivating forest, and annual research on plantations and intensive plantations, reporting units are obliged to submit completed forms by 27.02. for the previous year.

Annual survey on forests in state ownership utilization and the annual survey on private forests utilization, reporting units are obliged to submit completed forms by 13.03. for the previous year.

Annual survey on damage in forests in state ownership and annual survey on fire damage in private forests, reporting units are obliged to submit completed forms by 12.03. for the previous year.

Annual survey on construction objects, roads and machinery, reporting units are obliged to submit a completed form until 09.04. for the previous year.

The three-year research on changes in the forest area, reporting units are obliged to submit completed forms by 30.04. for the previous three years.

Two-year hunting research, reporting units are obliged to submit a completed form by 11.05. for the previous two years. 

The basic indicators for geographical comparability are available.

The time comparability of the data has been available since 1963, depending on the required data, time comparability is possible since 1955.

There are no other relevant statistical data, except for data on the total number of employees in forestry and hunting activities.

Forestry statistics data within the set of statistical data are consistent.

The financial resources for the production of relevant data are provided from the budget of the Republic of Serbia. Depending on the activity carried out in the forestry profession, each reporting unit is burdened by appropriate statistical surveys in accordance with the presentation given in the following table:

                     Recapitulation of the burden per reporting unit annually

Policy of the general revision is adopted by the institution, it is located on the SORS website and can be accessed through the following link:

http://www.stat.gov.rs/en-US/o-nama/dokumenti

Revision of data was not carried out.

Data from the field of forestry are obtained by conducting the following research:

Monthly Survey on the production of forest assortments in the forests in the state ownership - reports are submitted monthly and they are include production structure, sales and stockpiles of forest assortments in the state forest, as well as number of employees in the forestry area.

Annual survey on forests in the state ownership utilization - reports are submitted every year at the municipal level. The collected data are equal to the gross weight of the wood, according to the of tree fellers in the forests and outside the forest. These data are processed into three basic varieties of wood: industrial and technical wood, firewood and waste. Data on gross weight of the wood in forests - by type of felling and forest type,  data on gross weight of the wood outside of wood, data on forests loaded with pasture, as well as data on used secondary forest products (in kg) as which are, for example, boron resins, forest seeds and fruits, medicinal herbs, hay and reeds, litter and leaf and the rest are collected by this survey.

Annual survey on the utilized private forests - reports are submitted every year at the municipal level. The collected data are equal to the gross weight of the wood - according to fellers in the forests and outside the forest. These data are processed into three basic varieties of wood: industrial and technical wood, firewood and waste. Also, data on gross weight of the wood in the forest - by type of felling and forest type,  data on gross weight of the wood outside of wood are collected.

Annual survey on afforestation and cultivating forest, reports are submitted every year at municipal level, especially for state and private forests. The collected data refer to:

- artificial afforestation, afforested area by type of wood in hectares;

- tending and land melioration of high and coppices forests, in hectares, depending on the type of forest (sastojinska pripadnost);

- land melioration of the other forest category, in hectares, depending on the type of forest (constituent nature).

Annual survey on plantation and intensive plantations - reports are submitted every year at the municipal level, especially for  forests in state ownership and private forests. The collected data refer to:

- growing and tanding of planes and intensive plantations, surfaces afforested by planting and numerous planting trees planted, by type of wood;

- damage to plantations and intensive plantations, whose causes can be: fire, insects, plant diseases, natural inclemencies and wild or domestic animals. Data are presented by type of wood, covered area, felled gross weight of the wood and financial damage;

- felled gross weight of the wood in plantations and intensive plantations, data on assortments structures and the way of forest felling by the type of wood;

- total  of the plantation and intensive plantations area and area of the plantation and intensive plantations on which a clear felling was performed, with the review of the area plantation and intensive plantation at the beginning of the year, the area of plantation and intensive plantation on which clear felling were performed by the type of wood, as well as review of condition of plantation and intensive plantation at the end of the year.

Annual survey on damages in the forest in state ownership - reports are submitted every year at the municipal level, for the forest in state ownership. the data collected are the same as:

- damage to forests by types of forests, in hectares;

- area and gross weight of felled wood by the causes of damage, i.e. gross weight of felled wood lumber and coniferous tree species and collectively, with three basic varieties of industrial and technical wood, firewood and waste;

- spent pesticides for forest protection – in kilograms, as well as its financial value;

- causes of the fire. number and area of ​​fire, by cause.

Annual survey on fire damage in forests in state ownership- reports are submitted every year at municipal level, for private forests. These data include damage from fire by type of forest (constituency), fire areas, gross weight of felled wood and financial damage.

Annual survey on construction objects, roads and machinery, reports are submitted every year at the municipal level, for state administration. The collected data refer to:

- forestry buildings - number of objects and object area by purpose;

- roads in forests in state ownership - forest roads and roads of public importance, in kilometers longer;

- transports – number of trucks, tractors, truck and tractor trailers;

- machinery for the exploitation of forests – number of cranes, combined machines, chipping machines and chainsaws;

- other machines and connecting devices – number of machines and connecting devices used in construction works, for the cultivation of forests, for nursery production and  protecting forests works.

Three-year survey on changes in the forest area- reports are submitted every third year at municipal level, especially for forests in state ownership and private forests. The collected data refer to:

- the forest area at the beginning of the observed period, by the type of forest and the causes of the increase in the area under the forest for three years,

- reduction of the area under the forest for three years and the area under the forest at the end of the observed period.

Data are showed in hectares.

Data are collected in monthly, annual, two-year and three-year periodicals. A detailed description is given in the concept Data sources.

Data collection is done through the regional departments of the SORS. The reporting method is used to collect data, and the sources are: technical documentation, accounting records, forestry and economic management studies, etc. As far as unmanaged forests are concerned, the estimation method is mainly utilized when the above mentioned sources are not available.

Automatic and manual validation of data completeness is performed. Data validation is based on the results from the previous year.

Controlled data entry and processing is done in the IST program (developed in the SORS). Non-response of reporting units and non-response to certain key issues are resolved by imputation of data from reports from the same reporting unit from the previous year or reports from other reporting units.

Not applicable.

No note.