1. Terminology
To many a forest is the epitome of nature, but it is also part of human culture. In modern German, a Wald (“woodland”) is thought of more as part of the natural environment, a Forst (“forest”) as a managed Wald. Wald goes back to OHG wald (also walth, Proto-Germanic walpus or walthus, Indo-European waltus), which can also mean “wilderness,” “land that has not been subject to human culture” [12. 34]. The etymology of Fors…