The investigation of risk concerning impacts of a climate change on forest ecosystems and the formulation of an adaptation policy under conditions of Slovakia

The project is focused on natural hazards and their impacts on the most important forest ecosystems under climate change. The most present research on climate change process and their scenarios up to the end of this century assume an increase of climate conditions extremity. This will be manifested by higher frequency of torrential rains, flash floods, landslides, drought, forest and wild fires, wind and snow calamities as well as pest and pathogens outbreaks. The priority of the proposed project is to investigate on forest water balance, assessment of the water shortage and drought risk in the forest landscape. The project also deals with growth process changes of ecosystems in conditions of the climate change as well as the tree species reaction on the increasing frequency of natural hazards. The project evaluates climate change impact risk on forest management profitability, as well as potential changes in ecosystem and socio-economic services. The project proposes management, forestry and organizational adaptation measures aimed on decreasing resp. elimination of abiotic and biotic natural hazards in climate change condition of the 21st century.