Drought and its impact on the bio-production of forests

The precipitation deficit, heat waves and subsequent drought significantly affected the forests in the Czech Republic. Primarily, forests were affected by physiological insufficiency and later by biotic and abiotic factors. On the initiative of the Ministry of the Environment of the Czech Republic, a study of the condition and damage of forest functions in the model area was formulated. The study was aimed at the model locality of the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands, especially the forest management unit of the Dačice municipality (South Bohemian Region). The study uses certified national methodologies for evaluating forest function damage (Vyskot et al. 2003; Vyskot et al. 2014). This paper specifies the state and damage of the bio-production function depending on the represented forest management groups, stand types of woody plants and age phases of stands, in terms of value (in %) and finance in Czech koruna (CZK, the currency of the Czech Republic). In particular, spruce stands and their dominant mixtures of non-matured and fully matured trees were affected by major damage of a destructive nature. Due to the changed ecosystem conditions, a modified concept of forest management was proposed

Social-Recreation Evaluation of Forest Roads and their Suitability for Trails: Towards a Complex Approach

Marked trails in forests usually make use of forest roads. Nowadays, the selection of a suitable forest road is predominantly, if not solely, based on the technical aspects of the road: the running surface and the available facilities enhancing their suitability for outdoor activities. However, the quality of the surrounding forest stands and their suitability for recreation – their social-recreation potential are not considered.We hypothesize that it is possible and desirable to evaluate forest roads using another criterion – the potential of the social-recreation function of forest roads according to the social-recreation suitably of surrounding forest stands. Degrees of the social-recreation value of a forest road were calculated as the weighted average of the degrees of values of individual surrounding forest stands and values of the significance/weight according to the length of individual forest stands along the road. The data were processed graphically using the ArcGIS geographic information system, in which it is possible to carry out the presented procedure. Forest roads with the highest degree of social- recreation potential were chosen to plan a trail and the direction of the trail was marked in the maps. The results demonstrate a new possible complex approach to trail designing; it represents an interactive way to choose suitable forest roads, with respect to both their technical quality and also the highest achievable recreational effect of the adjacent forest stands. This brings us closer to the achievement of a complex approach to trail designing: to be able to evaluate not only the technical aspects of roads but other criteria as well and use this ability to achieve the highest possible recreational effect of forest roads. If the interest of the community in the recreation in a particular forest area increases, we have provided the bases for the planning of new forest trails and roads, suitable surfaces, resting and parking places in purposeful locations

Social-Recreation Evaluation of Forest Roads and their Suitability for Trails: Towards a Complex Approach

Marked trails in forests usually make use of forest roads. Nowadays, the selection of a suitable forest road is predominantly, if not solely, based on the technical aspects of the road: the running surface and the available facilities enhancing their suitability for outdoor activities. However, the quality of the surrounding forest stands and their suitability for recreation – their social-recreation potential are not considered.We hypothesize that it is possible and desirable to evaluate forest roads using another criterion – the potential of the social-recreation function of forest roads according to the social-recreation suitably of surrounding forest stands. Degrees of the social-recreation value of a forest road were calculated as the weighted average of the degrees of values of individual surrounding forest stands and values of the significance/weight according to the length of individual forest stands along the road. The data were processed graphically using the ArcGIS geographic information system, in which it is possible to carry out the presented procedure. Forest roads with the highest degree of social- recreation potential were chosen to plan a trail and the direction of the trail was marked in the maps. The results demonstrate a new possible complex approach to trail designing; it represents an interactive way to choose suitable forest roads, with respect to both their technical quality and also the highest achievable recreational effect of the adjacent forest stands. This brings us closer to the achievement of a complex approach to trail designing: to be able to evaluate not only the technical aspects of roads but other criteria as well and use this ability to achieve the highest possible recreational effect of forest roads. If the interest of the community in the recreation in a particular forest area increases, we have provided the bases for the planning of new forest trails and roads, suitable surfaces, resting and parking places in purposeful locations

The evaluation of nature conservation and forest functions interests on the example of the Český les protected landscape area

The aim of the work was to interconnect known aspects of nature conservation, which are projected in the zonation, with the quantification of forests and find out, if the interests of nature protection are in the conjuction with the high functional effectivenes of forests. For the quantification of forest functions the metod by Vyskot et al. (2003) was used. The results of quantification demonstrate that the exis­ting zonation is one-sided and that the zonation does not fully respect the interest of nature conservation and forest function in common. According to the conflicts the new PLA Český les zonation by the disertation's method was created. The quantification is applicable not only for the new zonation but also for the preparation of foundational or management documents

The Dynamics of the Phenological Development of Four Woody Species in South-West and Central Slovakia

Phenological observations record the dynamics of vegetation in relation to meteorological conditions as well as the long-term trends in relation to climate change. We processed 20-year data of the flowering (BBCH scale 60), leaves unfolding (BBCH 11) and ripening of fruits (BBCH 86) of four woody species in south-west and central Slovakia. The phenological year begins with the flowering of the hazel. This phenophase has the largest amplitude of onset (52–65 days) as well as interannual variability (sx = 20.2–33.4%) as it enters an unstable condition in early spring. At all stations, the order of phenophases is the same from the end of April. We found the highest vertical phenology gradient of the BBCH 60 Tilia cordata Mill. (6 days/100 m) and the smallest of BBCH 11 T. cordata (2.4 days/100). The statistically significant trends (p < 0.05) in shifting to the earlier period were in BBCH 60 Crataegus oxyacantha L. (0.4–0.5 days per year), BBCH 86 Corylus avellana L. (0.6 days per year), BBCH 60 Prunus spinosa L. (0.5–0,6 days per year) and BBCH 11 Prunus spinosa L. (0.6–0.7 days per year). These shifts indicate the change in the onset of the phenophases in south-west and central Slovakia

Carbon Storage in Beech Stands on the Chřiby Uplands

The submitted scientific statement is a contribution to solutions of monitoring the storage of carbon in the woods and its emissions. Four permanent research plots were established in the area of the Chřiby uplands in the Czech Republic. The plots are made of forest stands with nearly 100% of European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.). The stands form simple spatial structures of about the same age (about 180 years). They represent, however, varying site conditions (dwarf acid beech stands, herb-rich beech stands and transitions between them). For quantification of carbon storage, standard dendrometric methods and the Field-Map technology were used. The total amount of carbon was established as the sum of further documented carbon storages in the aboveground biomass, the belowground biomass, woody debris and the forest soil. Determination of total amount of carbon was addressed in a version manner. In the first version, the estimate of the total amount of carbon was established based on Wutzler et al. (2008) equations for the aboveground biomass (AGB) and the belowground biomass (BB). In the second version, the AGB was calculated according to Joosten et al. (2004), the BB according to Wirth et al. (2003), the values of storages were consistent with Mund (2004) for woody debris, and with Mackù in Kolektiv (2007) for forest soil. Total carbon storage per hectare of stand is in average 370.2 t. Obtained outcomes support the quantitative results of latest research related to carbon in the woods

Impact of protective shelterbelt microclimate characteristics

Evaluation of microclimate characteristics of a protective shelterbelt in Obelisk enclosure in 2010. Vegetation performs indispensable functions in the landscape. Protective shelterbelts are important landscape elements. Individual interventions to these ecosystems should be made with the intention to increase the retention capacity of the landscape, the biodiversity, and the stability of individual landscape elements and the landscape as a whole. This article presents the results of the measuring of the effect of model forest vegetation in the proximity of Obelisk in the Lednice-Valtice area on the microclimate. The protective shelterbelt, declared as a forest stand, is located in the cadastral area of Lednice, Podivin and Rakvice. A set of weather stations, supplied by AMET- Litschmann and Suchy Velke Bilovice, was used for the measuring. The stations measured wind velocity (m/s), soil temperature in depths of 5 and 10 cm (°C), air temperature (°C), radiation (W.m-2) and precipitation (mm) from January 1 to December 31, 2010. The ImageTool application was used to establish optical porosity, based on photos taken in summer and winter. Optical porosity was established as a ratio of white spots to their total number in a specific section of a photograph. The optical porosity was 5% during the growing season and 23% outside the growing season. These values significantly differ from the optimum values for efficient semi-permeable PS, whose porosity is set to 40-50%

Problematika péče o lesy v okolí hl. m. Prahy s ohledem na formy jejich funkčního využívání

Výroční zpráva shrnuje výsledky řešení projektu za období 2003-2004. V roce 2004 byly rozpracovány čtyři hlavní výstupy. Stav řešení těchto částí: 1. Podklady pro vymezení zájmového území, 2. Rámcové směrnice účelového hospodaření, 3. Metodika hodnocení ekonomických parametrů diferencovaného hospodaření v oblasti příměstských lesů a 4. kategorizace příměstských lesů hl. m. Prahy