Somogyi Múzeumok Közleményei 17/B. - Természettudományi tanulmányok (2006)

Dávid János: Erdőhasználati módok változásai a zselici erdőkben - Changing ways of use of wood in the forests of Zselic region (Hungary)

158 Changing ways of use of wood in the forests of Zselic region JÁNOS DÁVID In his previous article (Dávid 2000) the author demonstrated the changes of possessions in two sample areas of Zselic (the forests of Denna and Vitorági). The purpose of this article is to study the use of forest in these areas. The area between the Kapos valley and the lowland of Dráva had been covered with unbroken forests before the appearance of man. The trees of the forests always played a very important role in the life of people living there. In the forests by the settlements there was an important economic activity: animal breeding (grazing and feeding swine on mast), hunting, collecting mushroom and plants as well as making use of timber. The most important activity was making firewood. At the beginning people were allowed to cut tree freely. Later on the landlords set limits to the use of the forests. The final arrangement took place in 1853 when the peasant's right to getting wood was regulated by law. Besides the firewood burnt by the population a lot of wood was burnt by the small sized firms as well. A brick factory and glassworks operated next to the area examined. According to sources of the archives using the wood as firewood reduced to a great extent the tree stock of the forests in the Zselic region. The use of wood as firewood even now is very important. Recently the Power Station in Pécs has started to burn wood grown in the Zselic for bioenergetical purposes. Between the beginning of the 18th and the end of the 19th century a lot of wood was used by the glassworks as basic material. From the ash of the perfectly burnt wood a certain kind of solution was made which was mixed to melt down glass. A lot of timber was use for building houses. They use the harder timber (mainly oak) for the framework of the houses. The framework of the roof and the tiles were made from soft wood (pine or lime). At the beginning the timbering was made only by the local settlements because the dirt roads of the Zselic region did not make the transport possible. Sawmills have been built in and on the edge of the Zselic since the 19th century. The train could easily transport the sawn timber. As it was worth transporting the cutting of tree became intensive. Similar tendencies can be observed in connection with the use of wood for furniture. At the beginning the use for furniture was not important because of the reduced number of population though the furniture was made of wood. After sawmills were created the sawn timber became cheaper to transport. Even now this is the third more important use of timber. People used small amount of wood for making tools, pots, plays and shoes. They did not cut many trees for these purposes. Even now it is not characteristic. People did not use the forests only for timbering. The most important side-use of the forest was grazing. According to the documents they grazed swine in the Zselic. The production of mast and the ability of keeping swine became the standard of value in the forests of Zselic region. Grazing had been important till the 1930-ies of the 20 th century. The latest documents on grazing are from that period. The carbonization of wood was not important in the Zselic. Only a small amount of wood was used for this purpose. The oak-apple was intensively collected from the 18th to the 20th century because of the tanning material which was extracted from it to be used in the leather industry. Two side-uses of the forests are characteristic even now. These are the bee-keeping and collecting mushroom.