Forest ecosystem services affected by natural disturbances, climate and land-use changes in the Tatra Mountains

Abstract

The consequences of large-scale disturbances magnified by climate extremes and land-use changes in Norway spruce forests in the Tatra Mountains (Slovakia) are assessed in this study. The study area is part of the territory of Tatra National Park (TANAP). The driver-pressure- state-impact-response (DPSIR) framework was applied to evaluate how the ecosystem and its services are affected. The state of the ecosystem and its potential for provisioning ecosystem services before and after disturbances is expressed by a set of indicators derived mostly from long-term ecological research conducted in TANAP. The differences are classified by a standardised change index (CI). Ten years after the major windthrow disturbance in 2004, all ecosystem services were still below the pre-disturbance state. The most pronounced declines were found in cultural (average CI = 0.69) and provisioning (average CI = 0.86) ecosystem services. Regulating services are recovering faster (average CI = 0.97), with some indicators exceeding the state before the disturbances. Significant changes took place at the tree line, which is a new phenomenon not known from previous disturbances. Despite a gradual recovery of the ecosystem state and functioning, this analysis confirms that there is a serious risk of decline in forest ecosystem benefits according to regional climate change projections. It also indicates the increasing importance of sustainable forest management for safeguarding ecosystem services under changing conditions.