Старовікові ліси та праліси Українських Карпат: геопросторова структура та перспективи збереження

Abstract

The article presents the results of geospatial analysis of natural forests of the Ukrainian Carpathians, among which two categories are distinguished – virgin forests and old-growth forests. Field identification of natural forests was carried out in accordance with the criteria and indicators defined by the Carpathian Convention. In total, such forests cover almost 95 thousand hectares in the region, most of which grow within the Zakarpattia region. Most of the natural forests are preserved in the ecoregions of the Polonyny Borzhavy-Krasnoi (17.6 thousand ha) and Central Gorgany (13.2 thousand ha). At the same time, the largest share of natural forests in the total forested area (more than 20 %) was revealed within the ecoregions of Polonyny Borzhavy-Krasnoi, Rakhiv crystalline polonyny and Chyvchyn crystalline polonyny. About 58 % of all identified natural forests are beech-dominated stands, 70 % out of which are pure beech stands. About one-third of the virgin and old-growth forests are spruce stands, which are attributed to the middle-mountain ecoregions. About 5 % of the total area is covered by mountain pine forests, which are mostly monodominant. It was found that currently less than half of the natural forests occur within different types of protected areas, and therefore are protected. About 49 % of all virgin and old-growth forests grow within the 22 sites of the Emerald Network in the Ukrainian Carpathians. At the two key study areas we analyzed the possibility of improving the connectivity of the Emerald Network using natural forest massifs. In some places this possibility is limited by the significant intensity of forest cover loss in the region, including some due to the cuttings. In general, within the identified natural forests, the loss of forest cover was recorded on an area of about 1 800 ha. It was found out also that in 2016–2018, the volume of losses in natural forests increased, while within all forested areas of the Ukrainian Carpathians, it has decreased. Key words: virgin forests, old-growth forests, geospatial analysis, Emerald Network, Ukrainian Carpathians.