Forests, Mountains and Meadows in Eastern Slovakia Report on Erasumus+ ARCHnet Structured Adult Education of Staff Course Hosted by Miroslav Knezo of Krajina SK Trip dates: 27 May – 3 June 2019 Participants: Amy King (RSPB Orkney Native Wildlife Project), Nicola Tallach (Scottish Wildcat Action Project Officer), Ann-Marie MacMaster (SWT - Conservation Officer for Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels (Tayside)), Fiona Cuninghame (SNH – Access Officer), Melissa Shaw (Garnock Connections Landscape Partnership, technically RSPB), Anna McWilliam (FLS - H&M Work Supervisor), Gwenda Diack (Plantlife), Sally Ward (SNH – Area Officer) Day 1 – 27 May – Meeting the group and travelling to Slovakia Today was a long day for everyone as we all convened at the airport from various locations across Scotland to catch an evening flight to Krakow, Poland. Here we were met by Miro, our host for the week, and after introductions and a quick snack we climbed into a minibus which was to be our mode of transport for the remainder of the trip. We had a few hours drive across the border into Slovakia and arrived in the early hours of the morning ready for our beds and looking forward to what the morning would bring. Image 1. Gathered at the airport in Edinburgh Day 2 – 28 May – Forest and Fen in the High Tatras National Park Our first full day began with us travelling to north Slovakia, bordering Poland, where the mountain tops of the High Tatras National Park tower above the forest line, although we didn’t see these until later in the day after the rain had eased off. We met up with Mr Celer, a Forest Manager, in a local museum. Here we had time to explore the exhibitions detailing the geology, ecology and history of the area, together with some impressive taxidermy and information about the flora and fauna of the country. Some of the information was more technical than we’d anticipate in Scottish museums however it was good to see a lot of children enjoying the museum as part of a school trip. The displays were more aimed at adult audiences so the children relied on teachers and museum staff to explore with them, but were clearly happy to be there. Image 2. Entrance to the botanic garden Image 3. Display in museum Mr Celer explained the management of the area, and how he used his specialist Geographic Information System (GIS) skills to help with his work. Native tree species found here include Norway spruce, larch, stone pine, dwarf pine, birch, silver fir and rowan. Mr Celer explained how GIS has been used to map the various different management zones within the National Park (NP), based on the ‘naturalness’. The criteria for naturalness included: vegetation naturalness, trees species, stand structure, diversity and composition vegetation, cycle ontogeny, age, dead wood, human activity, the use of forest land in the past, previous calamities (the term used in Slovakia when large numbers of trees are blown over in occasional exceptionally strong winds) and forest planting. As a result there are 5 management zones including a buffer zone around the national park: 1. Buffer area – yellow zone 2. Common management – green zone 3. Grazing management – blue zone 4. Minimal intervention –pink/red zone 5. Non- intervention – also red zone – top level of protection The stone pine was an unfamiliar species for many of us. This pine can live for between 400 and 1,000 years and typically grows between the forest and the mountain zone. Conditions in the mountains are such that it can take 30 years for this species to grow to just 1.3 m tall! Old growth stone pine makes up part of the primeval forest which covers 1% of the forest, with natural/semi natural forest making up a further 14%. 49% of the forest in the NP is privately-owned and we visited one of these areas in zone 5. This was a sheltered wood system similar to systems used in the UK however the ground flora was richer than in our forests with a more diverse age structure and species of tree. The site we visited was also a nature reserve so extraction of timber is undertaken by selective felling and horse logging. The NP pay the forest owner to Image 4. Example of tree structure in the retain veteran trees and this is deemed acceptable forest since the value of the timber had dropped in Slovakia due to prices falling in the neighbouring Czech market. Penalties for felling a tree which had been purchased by the NP include the value of the tree and the social penalty for damaging the legacy of that tree for society. We were told that the social penalty element for the fine would be much higher than the value of actual timber itself, and it was positive to see that local people valued the trees enough to uphold this fine. In 2004 Slovakia was hit by a severe windstorm - wind speeds reached 270 km/hr! The Tatras National Park was badly affected, indeed 12,000 ha of forest, mainly Norway spruce was flattened. 165,000 m3 of damaged woodland was left uncleared since it occurred within the highly protected area of the NP, where intervention is not permitted. This triggered an outbreak of Bark beetle Ips typographus L., the most serious and destructive pest of the spruce species in its native range of Asia and Europe. Bark beetle breed in the inner bark of stressed and weakened trees, living in the dead Image 5. Special paint on the tree phloem tissues. Adult beetles hibernate in forest litter to stop grazing and aid growth and host trees, waiting for the perfect environmental early years conditions in order to reproduce. Two thousand hectares of trees were affected during the 2004 windstorm and these trees provided ideal conditions for Bark beetle. Dead spruce provided both breeding sites and food for Bark beetle allowing numbers to increase to such a degree that they began attacking living trees, resulting in extensive tree mortality. The removal of infected and windblown trees is the most effective control measure, however since the affected area occurred within in a “no intervention” zone this was not possible and the infestation continues to worsen even now. The first record of a breeding population of Bark beetle in the UK was recorded by the Forestry Commission in Kent at the end of last year, 2018. Mr. Celer advised us to contact him for advice in 15 years when they understand the full impact is on their forest. Image 6. Tree top view Image 7. Group talking with Mr Celer with example of the trail markers in foreground Image 8. Example of the damage the bark Image 9. Close up of bark beetle damage on a fallen trunk beetle does to trees. The central tree is dying After we left this area of the NP we visited a botanical garden which was the first stop on the ‘Exposition of the Tatra Nature’ trail which included the fen we visited later in the day. The gardens provided the opportunity to see many of the plants found in the High Tatras. It was a very impressive display of flora, with good signage naming each species, and describing the habitat in which it would be found naturally. The paths and board walks were set out such that access was good and provided the majority of people the opportunity to learn about native species across the range of habitats found in Slovakia. The gardens attracted butterflies and birds too, including a beautiful common rosefinch which was a first for the group, so this enhanced the experience for visitors. Both the botanic gardens and the nearby natural history museum provide visitors with a good introduction to the flora and fauna of the High Tatras. At both sites, there was basic information in terms of interpretation with specimen names however little explanation. The High Tatras are so rugged and therefore inaccessible to many so these attractions allow visitors an alternative way to experience the area. Image 10. The group exploring Image 11. Common rosefinch the botanical gardens In the afternoon we visited the alder carr on Pramenisko Tople which was designated as a National Nature Reserve (NNR) in 2004 as it is the oldest and best preserved forest of this type in the Tatras. The site, with its unusually straight trunked trees, sits within a fluvio glacial area with a fluctuating water table. The ground flora was extremely diverse with plants such as herb paris and massive marsh marigolds. We also spotted a basking adder, newts, wild boar tracks, deer, fox and woodpeckers. Image 12. Herb Paris found in the alder carr Image 13. Adder basking in the sun Image 14. Viewing platform along the alder Image 15. Example of an information board carr board walk on the fen area next to the board walks Our jam packed first day, ended with a visit to the fen at Belianske Luky, the largest preserved fen in Slovakia, where access around the wettest sections of the 800 m trail was by boardwalk. Interpretation panels in English as well as Slovakian allowed us to find out more about this amazing site with its diverse range of flowers. This fen is categorised as zone 5 (minimal intervention). The fen was previously mowed however it is now mulched. We weren’t sure if this would enrich the ground with time and considered the fact that we might use livestock to aid in management in Scotland however there are no fences or nearby farmers, and this activity would be prohibited in this zone.