German Royal Forest Academy

The german royal forest academy (Konigliche Forstakademie) was the first public organization devoted to the scientific study of forestry, which began with the German Royal Forest Academy in the early 1800s. More and more students studied forestry and it spread around the world.

Noblemen have kept forested preserves for hunting and for wood products since the early Middle Ages. The dominance of forestry by hunting interests steadily declined after the mid-1800s, as the interests of German nobles turned to mining. Good-quality timber was needed to shore up mines, for smelting, and for cross ties for mine ore cars. However, it was soon recognized that the supplies [Page 761]of available timber affected mine profits. This gave rise to the concept of sustainable yield, and to the development ...