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The dissolution of existing relationships in the context of changes in the timber selling process made new ways of cooperation necessary. New ways of cooperation can be understood as social innovations. In previous research, interaction relationships for social innovation have been cited as important but not considered in detail (e. g. KLUVÁNKOVÁ et al., 2018; NIJNIK et al., 2019) Thus, the aim of the paper is to identify factors that promote and inhibit social innovation within forest management cooperatives (FMC), which are based among other things on interactions. This paper is based on a theoretical approach informed by actor-centered institutionalism and complemented by the concept of path dependency (see Fig. 1), in order to take into account actor constellations, their interactions, the influence of historical events and decisions that have existed for years or decades. The results are based on the one hand on a qualitative content analysis of guideline interviews with board members and managing directors of FMC in Baden-Württemberg and on the other hand on the evaluation of a quantitative online survey of 86 FMC in Baden-Württemberg. By using the described mixed-method approach, five clusters could be identified (see Table 5): Entrepreneurs, Self-employed in timber supply and sales, Outsourcers, Volunteers with state help and State influenced. Certain constellations, the underlying strategies, the forms of interaction of FMC and their cooperation partners are highlighted as promoting or inhibiting factors for cooperation and thus social innovation. Furthermore, extraordinary events and their development paths determine new ways of cooperation between actors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plastics are both low-cost and almost arbitrarily longlasting materials also used for numerous products in forest management. However, plastic products constitute a significant share of solid waste and show a varying persistence in the environment. Although the use of plastics in terrestrian and marine environments is already widely discussed, a comprehensive and critical appraisal of treeshelters and treeguards has not yet been conducted. This is all the more surprising as they are the most important applications of plastic products in German forestry. When considering the strict specifications of close-to-nature and sustainable forest management in Germany, there is an urgent need for a comprehensive assessment of treeshelter and treeguard use taking into account environmental as well as forestry legislation. This study assesses plastic product use in forests based on federal legislation and for two selected states, Baden-Württemberg and North Rhine-West - phalia. We analysed a) which environmental laws and norms are applicable to treeshelters at the end of their life span of, b) which are the resulting consequences for their use in forestry practice, and c) which solutions exist for further use of commercially available treeshelters and innovative new treeshelters. Five groups of tree shelters have been assessed: A/made of plastic with a long life span, B/oxo-degradable plastic, each without certification on degradation, C/compostable plastics certified by DIN EN-norms, D/wood, paper or jute without information on impregnation treatment as well as E/treeshelters without any information on the material used nor certification. The assessment takes into account federal legislation, particularly the forest act, the nature conservation act as well as the corresponding legislation at the state level. The study comes to the conclusion that leaving any type of treeshelters in the forests after they have fulfilled their protective purpose, doesn't conform with the laws in force. As well the forest act requires treeshelters from group A, B, D and E to be removed. Only treeshelters from group C can potentially be left at the site of installation, under the condition of fast degradation without any residues of microplastics and other contaminants and under the condition that their decomposition products are completely integrating into natural cycle of materials. The current practice of leaving treeshelters on site or just hesitant removal and restrained disposal after having fulfilled their purpose clearly contradicts legal provisions in the two German states under consideration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plastics are both low-cost and almost arbitrarily longlasting materials also used for numerous products in forest management. However, plastic products constitute a significant share of solid waste and show a varying persistence in the environment. Although the use of plastics in terrestrian and marine environments is already widely discussed, a comprehensive and critical appraisal of treeshelters and treeguards has not yet been conducted. This is all the more surprising as they are the most important applications of plastic products in German forestry. When considering the strict specifications of close-to-nature and sustainable forest management in Germany, there is an urgent need for a comprehensive assessment of treeshelter and treeguard use taking into account environmental as well as forestry legislation. This study assesses plastic product use in forests based on federal legislation and for two selected states, Baden-Württemberg and North Rhine-Westphalia. We analysed a) which environmental laws and norms are applicable to treeshelters at the end of their life span of, b) which are the resulting consequences for their use in forestry practice, and c) which solutions exist for further use of commercially available treeshelters and innovative new treeshelters. Five groups of tree shelters have been assessed: A/made of plastic with a long life span, B/oxodegradable plastic, each without certification on degradation, C/compostable plastics certified by DIN ENnorms, D/wood, paper or jute without information on impregnation treatment as well as E/treeshelters without any information on the material used nor certification. The assessment takes into account federal legislation, particularly the circular economy act, the soil protection act and the bio-waste ordinance. The study comes to the conclusion that leaving any type of treeshelters in the forests after they have fulfilled their protective purpose, doesn't conform with the laws in force. Particularly, the circular economy act requires treeshelters from group A, B, D and E to be removed. Only treeshelters from group C can potentially be left at the site of installation, if they are reduced to small pieces which in turn are mixed with topsoil. However, even for such a practice a specific permit needs to be granted from the authority responsible for circular economy in consent with the forest authority. The current practice of leaving treeshelters on site or just hesitant removal and restrained disposal after having fulfilled their purpose clearly contradicts legal provisions in Germany. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]