Assessing forest degradation in Slovakia

Abstract

Forests are key ecosystems for biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services provided to society. They are a source of wealth and jobs in rural areas and also contribute to the quality of the environment, because they contribute to water retention, flood protection, reduce climate change by absorbing and storing 10% of carbon emissions in the EU. EU forests and other wooded land now cover 155 million ha and 21 million ha, respectively, together more than 42% of EU land area EU, 2015 . Forests are not evenly distributed. Similarly, the qualities of forests and their management types in the various regions and countries are diverse. Despite the high value services that forests provide, they are not always adequately protected and effectively utilized. According to FAO about 13 million hectares of world forest are lost every year. Competing and conflicting demands for land use are likely to grow further towards 2050, when 9 billion people will be sharing one planet and its limited resources, under changing climate patterns and socio-economic conditions. The reasons of forest ecosystem degradation are diverse. According to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change UNFCCC, 2007 secretariat, the overwhelming direct cause of deforestation is agriculture. Subsistence farming is responsible for 48% of deforestation; commercial agriculture is responsible for 32% of deforestation; logging is responsible for 14% of deforestation and fuel wood removals makes up to 5% of deforestation. Threats to forests also threaten biodiversity hotspots, economic prosperity and development. From this aspect due attention should be given to the protection of forests not only at European level but also nationally. The paper is focused on the current status of forest degradation in Slovakia

Keywords

• representative geoecosystems,forest ecosystems,Slovakia,degradation of forests,stress factors

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