Publication details
Prohlášení České botanické společnosti aneb deset témat pro českou lesnickou politiku
| Title in English | Declaration of the Czech Botanical Society or ten ideas for Czech forestry policy |
|---|---|
| Authors | |
| Year of publication | 2009 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Zprávy České botanické společnosti, Materiály |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Field | Forestry |
| Keywords | conservation; Czech Republic; forestry; policy |
| Description | The topic of the conference of the Czech Botanical Society in 2008 was forest vegetation. The organizers attempted to include a wide range of issues from research to management and conservation. Based on the papers and the extensive discussions, the Czech Botanical Society decided to make the main ideas concerning future forestry policy publicly available. These ideas were: The fundamental difference between lowland and highland forests: the former are particularly valuable for their biodiversity, the latter are suitable rather for the conservation of natural processes. This distinction has a historical background. Historical human impact on Czech forests is still little known but is certainly of crucial importance virtually everywhere. The present conservative timber production-aimed management regimes should be differentiated, focusing on the non-production functions of forests in all kinds of protected areas. Two contrasting approaches appear to be important for the future conservation of forests: non-intervention and traditional management. They should be introduced and promoted in order to preserve processes and/or to maintain biodiversity. The latter includes counterbalancing the effects of eutrophication and the increasingly mesic environment of lowland forests. Moreover, forest continuity is important for the survival of populations of organisms in fragmented landscapes. Large-scale disturbances (such as windstorms) should be considered natural parts of forest ecosystems. The influence of large herbivores is undoubtedly one of the most proble- matic issues, however, its effects are ambiguous from the conservation point of view. Finally, many non-fo- rest patches in the landscape are much more valuable than forests and should not be turned into forests. |