A review of the influence of climate change on coniferous forests in the Balkan peninsula

Abstract

Evidence of climate change and global warming is becoming more visible; it is an ongoing process that is likely to become increasingly influential in the near future, not only at the global level but also at the local and regional levels. The fact that climate change affects the development of all forest communities and forest tree species, accordingly, has resulted in the increasing awareness in society towards this phenomenon. Having this in mind, the main aim of this paper is to evaluate the relationship between climate change and coniferous forests in the Balkan Peninsula, as well as to review the management strategies that may contribute to forest adaptation to climate change, with a special emphasis on the conservation of forest genetic resources. Hence, we have analyzed 202 papers regarding climate change and its effects on coniferous forests in the Balkan region, as well as papers dealing with adaptive forest management and forest genetic resources conservation. We concluded that climate change will likely represent one of the major challenges for coniferous forests on the Balkan peninsula in the future, imposing a need for the application of different management strategies to address these challenges and to facilitate adaptation of forests to the altered environmental conditions.