COST Action E 52 - vTI - Bund.de

corresponding typological units can be found on the webside of the National Forestry Centre (http://
www.forestportal.sk/ForestPortal/).
maNaGemeNT oF beech sTaNds
Beech is an important commercial tree species, but primarily it is considered a stabilizing element of
forest stands. It is reflected also in the health state: beech is generally considered resistant to native
pests and pathogens, the mean defoliation degree on a 0 to 4 scale is 0.86 compared to 1.36 in the case
of Norway spruce. Therefore, it is not an object of intensive breeding, but much more emphasis is given
to the preservation of its adaptedness and ecological stability through the gene-pool conservation of
the existing indigenous populations. Natural regeneration is generally considered the best tool for
fulfilling these tasks. Therefore, silvicultural systems based on natural regeneration have traditionally
been applied in beech forests. A tendency towards forest management close to nature is declared
and reported in Green Reports of the Ministry of Agriculture. Officially, the share of clearcuts in the
forests of Slovakia decreased from 85% in 1990 to 32% in 200 . However, the reality may deviate from
official declarations, with an increasing use of heavy mechanization, there is a shift from shelterwood
group cuttings towards logging schemes allowing higher logging concentration such as strip felling,
and even small-scale clearcuts are sometimes applied also in beechwoods. This is also documented
by the extent of natural regeneration: although it increased from 18% in 1990 to 34% in 200 , it does
not correspond to the declared decrease of clearcuts.
Beech mostly grows in high forests, beech coppices are exceptional. Generally, the proportion of
coppices is very low in Slovakia, being 1.82% in 200 , and the majority of these are oak and hornbeam
stands.
As mentioned, the actual proportion of beech is over 31%, but the share on potential natural forest
vegetation is much higher, 48%. A long-term target is increasing this proportion to approx. 36%. The
average age of beech stands is 1 years, whereby a shift towards a higher representation of older age
classes has been observed in recent years. The current annual increment amounts to 5.9 m3 .ha-1 .
ForesT reProducTIve maTerIaL aNd GeNe PooL
coNservaTIoN
The reconstruction of a more natural tree species composition is hardly possible without extensive
reforestation. This is an up-to-date topic mainly in the Kysuce region where conifer plantations,
declining today, had replaced natural stands, and a reconstruction of a more natural tree species
composition is under way. As very few beech stands remained in this area, finding appropriate seed
sources is a difficult task.
In Slovakia, the problems of the biological quality of forest reproductive material have been legally
regulated since 1939. At present, there are two legislative norms in this field: the Act no. 21 /2004 on
Forest Reproductive Material, and the Decree no. 5 1/2004 on the Sources of Forest Reproductive
Material, its Procurement, Production and Use, elaborating detailed rules of procuring and transfer
of Forest Reproductive Material (FRM). Both legal norms implemented the rules set by the OECD
Scheme and the EU Directive 105/1999/EC. A revision of the legislation is just under preparation,
but the basic principles will not be probably changed. In general, reproductive material for forestry
222