Landscapes Forest and Global Change - ESA - Escola Superior ...

V. Caboun 2010. New classification and utilization of forest functions in landscape
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1.2 Significance of the issues solved
The importance of these issues follows also from the fact the European Commission issued
COM no. (88) 255 concerning the strategy and action plan of the Community in forestry and set
up in total 6 objectives for forest sector, of them 4 are directly related to the solved issue:
• Support the participation of the whole forest sector in planning the utilization of the
landscape and thus to contribute to rural development
• Contribute to the protection and improvement of the environment
• Secure dynamic development of forestry that would enable better fulfilment of
individual forest functions
• Enhance importance of forests as a natural environment for recreation.
It follows from the mentioned above that the future of forestry depends on the importance of the
forests in a society. Interrelations of human society and tree species and their utilization of their
functions have changed in time and space. A man used the functions of tree species and their
communities in the landscape in dependence on the number of a concrete human population,
natural conditions, and way of living as well as in dependence on social, economic and cultural
development of a society.
In accordance with EU forestry strategy one of basic goals of forest policy in Slovakia is
enhancement of multifunctional (functionally integrated) management of forests and protection
of the potential of their functions. We must handle functional potential of forests as the natural
wealth and to preserve and improve it by proper management.
Among the most serious problems limiting effective applying the system of multifunctional
forest management is mainly discordance between social order for forest functions and their
economic funding.
2. Methodology
2.1 Theoretical and methodical starting points
Despite the fact the issues of forest functions were solved mainly in the 70-80s of the past
century the solution has not been completely and satisfactorily finished what concerns the
functions of tree species and their communities in new ecological and socio-economic
conditions of Slovakia. Recently prevailing perception of the nature and forest, which served the
man and his requirements caused that forest functions were considered services with purposeful
selection and social utilitarian prioritisation.
Modern ecological approach to forest and forest functions in the landscape must consider the
latest knowledge on ecosystem research of forest. This view at forest ecosystems must
necessarily consider long-term time factor bringing about various dynamics of the changes of
ecological, economic and social conditions, but mainly different view at forest functions and
their utilization. From this viewpoint the way of functional integration seems to be substantially
more effective and more pragmatic than the way of purposeful differentiation and prioritisation
of some of the functions.
To be able to use this approach it is necessary to extend greatly scientific knowledge on forest
functions and possibilities of their utilization in the landscape as well as to construction a new
classification system of forest functions that would consider ecological approach to forest as to
ecosystem.
This approach presupposes construction of basic typology and the system of the evaluation of
forest functions potential and assessment of real fulfilment of the functions by forest growing
under various site conditions, various types of the landscape (with various use and degree of
anthropic changes), with regard to the health condition of a real forest, its current tree species
composition, age and spatial arrangement of forest as well as to with regard to its ecological
stability considering expected global and regional (mainly climatic) changes with regard to
social requirements and the interests of forest owners.
Forest Landscapes and Global Change - New Frontiers in Management, Conservation and Restoration. Proceedings of the IUFRO Landscape
Ecology International Conference, September 21-27, 2010, Bragança, Portugal. J.C. Azevedo, M. Feliciano, J. Castro & M.A. Pinto (eds.) 2010,
Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, Portugal.