The role of Primeval Beech Forests in the Carpathians in regional water management

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1 The role of Primeval Beech Forests in the Carpathians in regional water management Lubos Jurík Klaudia Halászová Zlatica Muchová Jozef Halva Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra Slovakia

2 UNESCO Sites Cultural (5) Bardejov Town Conservation Reserve (2000) Historic Town of Banská Štiavnica and the Technical Monuments in its Vicinity (1993) Levoča, Spišský Hrad and the Associated Cultural Monuments (1993) Vlkolínec (1993) Wooden Churches of the Slovak part of the Carpathian Mountain Area (2008) Natural (2) Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe (2007) Caves of Aggtelek Karst and Slovak Karst (1995)

4 3 National Parks SK PL UA

5 3 Primeval Beech Forests

6 3 Primeval Beech Forests

7 Poloniny The Poloniny National Park was declared on October 1, 1997 on an area of km² with a protection zone of km².

8 Poloniny

10 Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe This transboundary extension of the World Heritage site of the Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and the Ancient Beech Forests of Germany (Germany, Slovakia, Ukraine) now stretches over 12 countries. Since the end of the last Ice Age, European beech spread from a few isolated refuges in the Alps, Carpathians, Mediterranean and Pyrenees over a short period of a few thousand years in a process that is still ongoing. This successful expansion is related to the tree s flexibility and tolerance of different climatic, geographical and physical conditions.

11 Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe Date of Inscription: 2007 Extension: 2011,2017 Criteria: (ix) to be outstanding examples representing significant on-going ecological and biological processes in the evolution and development of terrestrial, fresh water, coastal and marine ecosystems and communities of plants and animals; Property : Buffer zone: 92, ha 253, ha

12 Rožok (Slovak Republic) The site, one of the most productive beech primeval forests on the Slovak territory. It is a national nature preserve embedded in the B-zone of the Poloniny National Park. The property is located in the Bukovské Vrchy (Bukovské Hills), in its part Kremencové Pohorie (Kremencové Mts.), northeast of Ulič, a village in the Snina District. It touches the boundary between Slovakia and Ukraine and borders on the Ukrainian Uzhansky National Nature Park (UNNP). The national nature preserve extends at the elevation m a.s.l., on a NW slope from sandstones and claystone slope deposits within the outer Carpathian flysch belt. Its largest part is underlain by a rhythmic series of thinly flysch layers. Thin layers of sandstone and various claystones are superimposed on each other.

14 Rožok (Slovak Republic) The average yearly temperature is 7 ºC, the annual precipitation ranges 780 mm and the vegetation period lasts about 190 days. Its climate has been classified in the mildly warm mountainous and moderately cold mountainous climatic-geographical types. Cambisols rich in humus have gradually formed on light grey daze sandstones and dark grey marl-clay slates. They are eutric to mesotrophical, sandy clays, loamy clays and loams with featuring good water, air and nutrients regimes. These soils provide the basis for a higly productive primeval beech forest with the average age of trees 130 years, 210 years in the main canopy. The average standing volume ranges from 577 to 794 m 3 ha 1.

15 Rožok (Slovak Republic) The reserve is drained by Zbojský Potok brook that mouthing into Stužica River, which in turn drains into the Uh River and is a part of the Bodrog River watershed.

16 Rožok National Nature Reserve contains nearly homogeneous beech forests with significantly variable height and diameter structure. Its developmental cycle lasts years. The developmental stages occur within spatially restricted small patches and can be delineated based on the proportion of trees within the middle overstorey and the average diameter of trees from the upper overstorey. According to the latest research, which was carried out in 1999, most forests of the reserve are in the maturation developmental stage (45-50 % of the area of the reserve), followed by the senescence stage (30-35%), and the optimum stage (20-25%). Shelterwood regeneration takes place in the reserve s forests within small are patches and groups. Developmental independence is reached on 30 ha.

17 Havešová National Nature Reserve Since the site is currently designated as a National Nature Reserve, and it is a part of the Poloniny National Park, which was awarded a European diploma by the European Council in 1998, a system of protection measures is defined for it in the National Council of the Slovak Republic Act No. 543/2002 Coll. on Nature and Landscape Protection.

19 Havešová National Nature Reserve is located in the Nasta mountain range of the Bukovské Vrchy Mountains, in the Dukla unit of the Carpathian outer flysch belt, between the villages of Kalná Ráztoka and Stakčínska Ráztoka. It belongs administratively to Snina District. The reserve s primeval forest stands are located from 440 to 741 metres above sea level. The reserve is classified into the moderately warm mountainous climatic-geographical type. Mean annual temperature is C and the growing season lasts from days a year. The annual precipitation is mm, and snow cover can be observed for days a year.

20 Havešová National Nature Reserve contains nearly homogeneous beech forests with significantly variable height and diameter structure. Its developmental cycle lasts years. The developmental stages occur within spatially restricted small patches and can be delineated based on the proportion of trees within the middle overstorey and the average diameter of trees from the upper overstorey. According to the latest research, which was carried out in 1999, most forests of the reserve are in the maturation developmental stage (45-50 % of the area of the reserve), followed by the senescence stage (30-35%), and the optimum stage (20-25%). Shelterwood regeneration takes place in the reserve s forests within small are patches and groups. Developmental independence is reached on 30 ha

21 Havešová (Slovak Republic) The core area of the site is ha and the buffer zone is ha. The site has been designated as a National Nature Reserve in 1964 as a part of a larger complex of intact beech pimeval forests in the Nastaz Range.

24 Stužica - Bukovské Vrchy (Slovak Republic) Stužica Bukovské Vrchy is a contigeous complex of beech primeval forests that extends from the headwaters of the Udava River (Nízke Beskydy Mts.) in the North-West to the headwaters of Stužica River (Bukovské Vrchy Mts.) in the South East. The complex comprises four primeval forest preserves (Udava, Pľaša, Rjaba Skala and Stužica) and beech primeval forests of the A (core) zone of the Poloniny National Park. Its territory lies within the borders of Snina District. It touches the boundaries of Slovakia, Poland, and the Ukraine.

25 Stužica - Bukovské Vrchy (Slovak Republic) The territory is characterised by a great range in altitude, from 650 to 1121 metres above sea level. It has been classified in the mildly warm mountainous, moderately cold mountainous, and cold mountainous climatic-geographical types. Mean annual temperature in the reserve is ºC, and the growing season lasts 90 to 140 days. Annual precipitation is mm and snow cover is present days a year.

26 Stužica - Bukovské Vrchy (Slovak Republic) Primeval forest plant communities that are protected within the reserve occur within the 4th beech forest vegetation zone and 5th firbeech forest vegetation zone. The beech primeval forests complex contains some 200 year old beech (Fagus sylvatica) specimens and >300 year old clusters of silver fir (Abies alba) including exceptionally large individuals, as well as equally respectable sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus) trees. Sycamore often occurs in stony gullies with common ash (Fraxinus excelsior). The presence of sycamore and rowan (Sorbus aucuparia) is even more visible on ridges in the reserve. A section of forest in the 4th forest vegetation zone, where beech is the dominant species, contains the highest proportional presence of fir of any primeval forest in eastern Slovakia. Its total volume percentage can reach 35%, but the number of fir individuals never exceeds 10% of the total tree number per hectare

27 Stužica - Bukovské Vrchy It is quite common for firtrees to outlive even 2 generations of beech. Fir diameter can reach cm, and its volume can exceed 30 m 3. The presence of fir makes itself felt most during the advanced phase of the maturation developmental stage of the 2nd beech generation, when there is the greatest height differentiation in stand structure. Fir abundance increases in the 5th forest vegetation zone of the reserve, but beech remains the core species and continues to determine the structure and development of forest stands. Fir is 20-30% of the total standing volume. Stands in this zone are characterized by a typical hierarchical structure that is sometimes multi-layered. Beech is regarded as the determinant species of the developmental cycle, which lasts 230 to 250 years. In the senescence developmental stage, the gradual elimination of surviving beech individuals is a characteristic process.

28 Kremenec Stužica

32 Wood production 2010 The structure of wood harvesting is as follows: woodcutting needles trees m3 woodcutting deciduous trees 54,923 m3 woodcutting upbringing 24,652 m3 calamity woodcutting m3 New tree planted

33 Stužický forest

34 Rožok

37 Stakčínska Roztoka By Daniel Fedin

38 WATER MANAGEMENT IN POLONINY

39 Poloniny

41 Stužica

42 Rožok

43 Havešová

44 Water Reservoir Starina

Starina reservoir Water reservoir Starina was constructed in years 1983-1988 at upper part of Cirocha river at territory

45 Starina reservoir Water reservoir Starina was constructed in years at upper part of Cirocha river at territory 240 ha, volume 60 milón m3. It was replacet 7 villages - Starina, Dara, Ostrožnica, Ruské, Smolník, Veľká Poľana and Zvala.

46 Starina River Cirocha 3,2 km2 60,0 mil m3

47 Water supply systems in Slovakia

48 Area supplyied from WR Starina Snina Belá nad Cirochou Dlhé nad Cirochou Pichne Snina Stakčín Strihovce Ubľa Ulič Zemplínske Hámre

49 Thank you Lubos Jurík Klaudia Halászová Zlatica Muchová Jozef Halva Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Slovakia

British Mycological Society

British Mycological Society Overseas Fungal Study Week to Slovakia Slovakia - Kaluža - hotel Glamour 20th September to 27th September Organization committee Slavomír Adamčík Miroslav Caboň Soňa Jančovičová