Biomonitoring project - monitoring of forest ecosystems in non-intervention areas of the Šumava National Park
Abstract
The Šumava National Park is the largest national park in the Czech Republic. It belongs to one of the most valuable terrestrial Natura 2000 sites in central Europe, where large areas are covered by mountain spruce forests.
These forest ecosystems are areas of special conservation value. Nowadays, 23% of the Šumava NP area is left without human interventions and this area offers a unique opportunity to study natural forest structure and dynamics.
Data about stand structure (live and dead trees, snags, stumps, lying dead wood, and tree regeneration) and plot characteristics (slope, soil, microsite cover, vegetation) are collected within the Biomonitoring project, which has been started already in 2008. Results of the project show successful regeneration of mountain forests after natural disturbances.
More than 90 % of inventory plots showed the regeneration densities >100 seedlings.haMINUS SIGN 1. We found, that there are enough young trees to guarantee the next generation of forests.
The project also confirmed that the lying dead wood is an important microsite for natural regeneration of trees, especially for the Norway spruce (Picea abies), a dominant species of the spruce mountain forest.