Strata based harvest planning on the basis of permanent inventory plots

German forest management planning is usually done on a single stand basis. In reality there is in most cases a significant difference between the plan ned and actual forest management performance. KRAMER (1966) concluded that it would make more sense to perform a more general planning in forest manag ement. Today, KRAMER's idea is of significance, because silvicultural goals have changed, and forest management is even more forced to reduce costs. This article describes the way how a strata based harvest planning can be d erived from forest inventory plots. The amount of thinning and final harves t is determined by prognosis of the single inventory plots, critical densit y levels which are based on the maximum stand density and critical diameter for final harvest. An example of a strata based harvest planning for the f orestry district Bramwald (Lower Saxony) showed, that the results of the ge neral planning was superior to single stand planning, because the actual vo lume and the estimated growth were based on inventory data. The information of the general planning, which will be already available in the beginning of the planning process in comparison to the single stand pl anning. This will give forest management, ministry, inspection, and forest district, more flexibility in considering special problems to come up with a suitable final plan.