Acta Scientiarum Polonorum
Silvarum Colendarum Ratio et Industria Lignaria

Damage caused to forest ecosystems by abiotic factors, including wind, is affecting Polish forests with increasing frequency, causing huge losses not only economically but also in terms of nature and society. The paper analyzes hurricane damage in terms of its impact on the quality and value of raw timber, using the example of a hurricane area located in the Zwoleń Forest District. The damage was estimated at 26 thousand m3 of raw timber on 200 hectares. The impact of the natural disaster on the value of the post-hurricane raw material was found. The loss per 1 m3 of post-disaster timber amounted to PLN 38 net. Analysis of the timber raw material from the disaster area also showed a reduction in the wood quality. A significant volume of wood was found to have shifted from higher to lower quality classes and from large-sized to medium-sized wood. As a result, this resulted in a reduction in the unit price per 1 m³ of timber.