important plant areas in central and eastern europe - hirc.botanic.hr ...

SlovakiaOf the 154 IPAs in Slovakia, 111 (72%) qualify under more than one criterion.77 Criterion A species have only one IPA recorded and four Criterion C habitats haveonly one site recorded.There are quite large datasets on species distribution available in Slovakia.They weremostly collated during habitat inventories as a by-product of mapping projects.Theinformation on species abundance was usually available only in very rough numbers inthree-degree scale. No systematic floristic mapping has been carried out in Slovakia inthe past.There are many records published, but they have not been processed intoinformation systems, so the evaluation of the trends remains very problematic at themoment.Key threats to IPAs in SlovakiaNo. ofIPAsRecommendations■ The future of IPAs is stronglyconnected with the process ofimplementing the EU Habitat Directives inSlovakia.■ The significant overlap between IPAsand the official proposal of sites for theNATURA 2000 network does not fullyguarantee appropriate plant conservationwithin the sites.■ Plant conservation ideas have to beincluded in management plans andmanagement measures have to be appliedat the sites.■ Several IPAs are still without any legalprotection and face different threats fromeconomic activities.■ It is necessary to find the mechanismsto ensure their protection.Habitat fragmentation and isolation affects a high number of IPAs (93).Abandonment orreduction of land management is a high level threat to IPAs, affecting 83 sites. Poorforestry practices are the most widespread threat to IPAs, affecting 94 IPAs in total (IFM,intensified forest management 68, afforestation 56, deforestation 15 IPAs). Agriculturalintensification or expansion is a frequently recorded threat (general 34, grazing 34).Invasive plant species threaten 65 IPAs, and tourism and recreation developmentthreatens 40. Inappropriate water management systems, including drainage, dredging andcanalisation affect 49 IPAs and eutrophication affects 40. Mineral extraction threatens 30IPAs and transport or infrastructure development affects 21.61