The State of The Fir in the Carpathian Natural Region

1991

S. 63-80

20 Lit. Ang.

Unselbständiges Werk

200048861

Folia Forestalia Polonika 1991 ; Serie A,Nr. 31, S. 63-80

The evaluation of the state of the European fir in the Carpathians, with special reference to the process of its recession, was the goal of the work considered as a basis for elaboration of directions for silvicultural activiy tending to maintain the welfare of this species. The investigations were carried out on the area of the Carpathian natural region, utilizing taxative descriptions of 37 657 tree stands, renewed on 1st January 1978. It was adopted in the work, that the acreage of the most stable tree stands (21- 80-year-old) with the share of the fir in the species composition of tree stands amounting to 50-100%, and with the share 10-100% in 10-year age classes, was a good basis for determination of the size and the dynamics of quantitative changes of the fir along the time (in 1898-1957). So "fir share change index" was constructed for the purpose, giving an information what the share of the fir had been in consecutive 10-year periods in the acreage of fir stands on the afforested area in the period in comparison (tree stands 71-80-year-old, during the period 1893-1907). According to the inventory valid on 1st January 1978 the tree stands with 100 per cent share of the fir in the species composition covered 6.5 per cent of the afforested area, while the total forest acreage was 478 968ha; with the share 50-100% - 21.9 per cent, with the share 10-40% - 24.6 per cent, and with the sahre 10- 100% - 46.5 per cent, respectively. The fir was the most numerous on the site of mountain deciduous forest - 66.7%, highland deciduous forest - 24.7%, and mountain mixed deciduous forest - 6.5%. The mean quality in younger tree stands reached the Ist class, and the IInd class in older ones, while the lower classes - only rarely. The mean density factor ranged from 0.8 to 0.6, and to 0.4 in the oldest tree stands. Beginning from the age of 31-40 years the acreage of fir stands increased importantly along the time. Those mean elements were rather strongly differentiated depending on a territorial situation. The analysis of "fir share change index" counted for forestry units (76 in Carpathians) made possible their arrangement into 3 groups with a similar course of indices along the time. The separate forestry unit groups covered as a rule the neighbouring areas (Fig. 1). A great compactness of those areas indicated, that the reasons determining the fir share change had got a markedly regional character. A relatively strong decrease of fir share along the time revealed in the area I (southeastern), while a relative stabilization was stated in the area II (central); but a stable, important increase revealed in the area III (western). Those trends of the fir share changes along the time were also affirmed by the absolute size of areas with the share of the fir. The process of fir recession (Ist area) was accompanied with the phenomenon of the decrease of ...