Projects

A folyamatos erdőborítást fenntartó gazdálkodás finom léptékű beavatkozásainak aljnövényzetre gyakorolt hatása – közelítőnyomok és lékek vizsgálata.

Megvalósítás alatt lévő/Futó projekt

Summary:

Continuous cover forestry is a management approach that – besides timber production – maintains the forest biota, processes and ecosystem services, thus ensuring the multifunctionality of the forests. It uses interventions of a scale and intensity similar to the spatial scale of natural stand dynamics (fine-scale timber harvests instead of large cutting areas), thus preserving the forest habitat at stand scale. However, the impacts of the interventions on biodiversity and the practical details of the implementation are not well understood. I would investigate the effects of fine-scale interventions of continuous cover forestry on the site conditions and understory vegetation of mountainous forests in two projects.

Continuous cover forestry requires the establishment of a so-called skid trail system. The creation of this network of narrow, unpaved roads needs the removal of about 10-20% of the trees, resulting in the opening up of the canopy. Then, timber production is done by logging of one or a few trees per locality, resulting in small gaps, which facilitate the regeneration through the increased light and soil moisture, and also influences the herbaceous vegetation.

My first project would study the effects of skid trails on the light, soil moisture and understory conditions of the stand experimentally and an observationally. Besides, in an ongoing experiment, I would deliver medium-term results on the response of the site conditions, herbs and regeneration to artificial gaps with different sizes, shapes and designs. My aim is to provide scientific evidences for the development of an ecologically sustainable but also economically successful forest management.