EXECUTIVE SUMMARY - UNESCO World Heritage

6. Monitoring
In the absence of developmental pressures, the monitoring of the nominated properties
means mainly a sustained or periodically repeated systematic observation and quantitative
collecting of data on the state of respective components of the natural environment of the
primeval forests on stationary permanent monitoring plots. Beside recording the current state
itself it also includes the observation of external factors that may manifest an influence on
primeval forests, such as long distance air pollution. In the monitoring process the main
components being observed are: air, water, soils and biota including trees as main edificators
of the geobiocenoses. For the monitoring and the evaluation of samples, state-of-the-art
technology is used, e. g. Time Domain Reflectometry, CNS elemental analyzer, electric
resistivity and X-ray tomography.
A regular monitoring of beech virgin forests in the Ukrainian Carpathians started after
the Carpathain State Reserve was established in 1968, the monitoring of primeval forests on
the Slovak territory began as early as 1964. It is now carried out on a co-operative basis and
using a unified methodology accross a network of permanent sampling plots. Biometric
measurements on the permanent plots are held every 5 or 10 years respectivelly, depending on
the parameter. Other investigations cover soils, geobotany, phytocoenology, zoology (all
groups of vertebrates and some groups of invertebrates). To co-ordinate both types all the
activities, Joint Centre for the Research of Temperate Primeval Forests has been founded in
2005 (www.virginforests.sk).
6.a Key indicators for measuring state of conservation:
Table 6: Key indicators for measuring state of conservation:
Indicator Periodicity Location of Records
Extreme temperatures weekly CBR, Poloniny National Park,
Eastern Carpathians Protected
Landscape Area, Vihorlat
Protected Landscape Area
headquarters, Database of the
Joint Management Committee of
the “Beech Primeval Forests of
the Carpathians” series
Precipitation
Other meteorological
characteristics obtained from
hydrometeorological institutes
(daily temperatures, wind, relative
air humidity, solar radiation etc.)
every two weeks
Soil water regime weekly
Physiologically available water weekly
Maximum water capacity yearly
Hydrophysical soil properties yearly
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