EXECUTIVE SUMMARY - UNESCO World Heritage

metals load of ecosystems due to air pollution (Šály, Pichler 1993). The investigations have
shown that no significant increase in soil acidity or heavy metals content due to potentially
polluted stemflow water occurred in the nominated properties.
Climate changes
According to Forest Gap Model, in the Carpathian forest at lower elevation (100–
450 m a.s.l.), ecological condition for beech may worsen and sessile oak could take a higher
proportion in the tree species composition, while at higher altitudes, conditions for European
beech will remain favourable mainly due to water regime, including options for further
expansion of beech toward higher altitudes and higher representation of noble broadleaves,
such as sycamore and ash (Minďáš, Škvarenina 2003). Overall, beech forest are the least
threatened ecosystems among sub-mountain and mountain forest ecosystems. Owing to
climate pattern of the Eastern Carpathians, no considerable reduction of precipitation is
foreseen due to the combined effect of air-streams bringing humidity both from the Atlantic,
Adriatic and Black Sea.
(iii) Natural disasters and risk preparedness (earthquakes, floods, fires, etc.):
Wind
Wind and fire are the most important factors threatening the static and ecological
stability of nominated primeval forests. In case of wind there is practically no effective
protection in place to avert wind caused disasters except for avoiding open stand boundaries, a
measure for which there is no need in the case of the nominated properties, because they are
surrounded by buffer zones of a sufficient area. However, current data from beech primeval
forests show that gaps can be defined as small, as a result of dying of old trees (endogenous
stand development), and big, as a result of outside abiotic factors (exogenous stand
development) (Runkle 1992). In beech primeval forests specifically, the size gap disturbances
patterns may vary from several m 2 to a few hectares (Rosenbergar et al. 2002, Zeibig et al.
2005) and such disturbances thus represent naturally occurring disturbances in beech forest
ecosystems. Generally, large-scale disturbances in beech virgin forests are rare.
Forest fires
On contrary to windstorms, forest fires are not a part of the ecosystem processes in the
Carpathian beech forests. Forest fires represent most immediate danger mainly for xerotherm
communities on carbonate rocks with shallow, drought-prone soils (Škvarenina et al. 2003).
58