Ecosystems under impact of global changes and disturbances studied by Slovakia Ľuboš Halada 1, Peter Fleischer 2 1 ) Institute of Landscape Ecology SAS, Slovakia 2 ) Research station of the State Forests of the Tatra National Park, Slovakia lubos.halada@savba.sk; fleischer@post.sk
In memory of RNDr. Ferko Kohút, PhD. 1980-2013
Structure TARGET 2 of the Biodiversity Strategy Risks to ecosystems in Tatra Mts. Alpine grasslands nitrogen manipulation experiment Forest - wind disturbance 2004 imoact to ecosystem structure and functioning Consequences for ecosystem services Conclusions
EU 2020 Biodiversity Strategy TARGET 2 Maintain and restore ecosystems and their services Action 5: Improve knowledge of ecosystems and their services in the EU How can contribute to this target and action? Examples from 2 -Slovakia sites
1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 dif % Down-slope wind Bora - anemo-orographic phenomenon Forests: Naturaly low species diversity (trees: spruce 75%) Climate - air temperature, precipitation Pests Ecosystems in Tatra Mts. Natural risks May-September avg T, R 60 40 20 0-20 -40-60 T R Forest weakening favorable for insect infestation temperature o C 600 550 500 450 400 10,5 12,5 350 14,5 16,5 300 250 200 Red: 1930-1960 average Black: individual years 1988-2007
Ecosystems in Tatra Mts. Human-driven/modified risks Air pollution: nitrogen, sulphur, ozone Nitrogen Nitrogen deposition remains excessive worldwide and exceedance of critical loads are widespread in Europe 2005 2010 Harmens et al. 2013
Nitrogen No general threshold for critical load of nitrogen it depends on species or habitat in focus Empirical CL: acid alpine grasslands 5-10 kg/ha, coniferous spruce forests 10-15 kg/ha (Bobbink et Hetteling 2010) N deposition in Tatra Mts. N [kg/ha] Source: Fleischer et al. 2011
Nitrogen deposition manipulation Alpine grasslands site Jalovecká dolina
Nitrogen deposition in High Tatra Mts manipulative experiment site Jalovecká dolina Since 2002 Habitat: Acid alpine grassland Treatments 2N - 20 kg.ha -2 N addition 6N - 60 kg.ha-2 N addition Measurements: Climate Chemistry Wet atmosperic deposition Decomposition of plant litter Soil availability of nitrogen Vegetation structure Plant biomass Epigeic invertebrates 15N - 150 kg.ha-2 N addition P - 50 kg.ha-2 P addition C control
concentration (mg.kg-1) Nitrogen deposition in High Tatra Mts manipulative experiment Primary production C P N2 N6 N15 180 160 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 Cations in individual treatments Ca2+ K+ Mg2+ Mn2+ C 2N 6N 15N Acidification Nutrient cycling
Nitrogen deposition in High Tatra Mts manipulative experiment Several decades of acid deposition decreased soil ph and the site reached a transition stage in which Fe dominates buffering of soils Current levels of N deposition inhibit plant growth due to a combination of loss of base cations and Al and Fe toxicity The cumulative effect of high acid deposition over six decades causes Tatra Mts. sensitive to elevated rates of N deposition and brought them dangerously close to toxic conditions This can have negative consequences to the integrity of ecosystem services provided by the alpine and high-mountain ecosystems Bowman et al. 2008 Nature Geosciences
Nitrogen deposition Nitrogen deposition in excess of critical loads causes adverse effects on structure and function of ecosystems UNECE Convention on Large-range Transboundary Air Pollution, 2013 Nitrogen decreases the resilience of forests to other environmental stresses such as drought, high wind, frost, pests and diseases. UNECE Convention on Large-range Transboundary Air Pollution, 2013
Large-scale disturbance effects to ecosystem services Alpine grasslands site Tatra National Park
2004: forest disturbance by wind 12 000 ha of forest destroyed 2,3 mil. m 3 of timber
Risks after the windstorm 2004 floods due to reduced retention capacity and blocked streams erosion fires insect outbreak extreme microclimate Air quality regulation Therapeutic function
Post-windstorm research site Tatra National Park Climate Hydric conditions Energy balance Bioproduction Biogeochemical cycles Soil, humus, erosion Regeneration processes Succession Plant, animal communities Forest management REF EXT 4 sites, 100 ha each: FIR NEX REF: control, not disturbed NEX: timber not extracted, unmanaged EXT: timber extracted, afforested FIR: timber extracted + fire
Regeneration Plot Dead wood [m 3 /ha] Regeneration [ind/ha] REF 49 1 300 NEX 346 4 400 EXT 86 4 500 FIR 49 4 200 Soil Soil moisture Mineralisation Nutrient leaching Some results NEX > EXT > REF max monthly avg T: max daily temperature annual mean air temperature at open sites NEX > REF > EXT > FIRE drought periods (7> days) daily transpiration continuous fire risk Climate min monthly precipit sum Nutrient cycling 17,4 o C (07/2007) +2 o C 33,5 o C (07/2007) +1,2 o C > closed forest 6,7 mm (04/2007) 5x (2007) 3 mm wind speed increased 30-50% on windfall area Climate regulation
Some results Stream water chemistry Elevated N: 1,4 x N-NO 3- ; 2,2 x N-NH 4+ Nutrient cycling Vegetation Moss layer died Primary production Monospecies community Intensive recolonisation Invasive species Reyunoutria japonica Soil respiration Significantly lower in disturbed sites Increasing trend Nutrient cycling Soil respiration (µmol CO 2 m -2 s -1 ) 2008-2012 Fleischer et al. 2012
Forest damage by bark-beetle Red: forest with dead trees because of bark beetle Black: sites damaged by windstorm where timber was left 2009 Pest regulation
Forest damage by bark-beetle Water regulation Retention capacity lower by 20-30% than in living forest, it is lower than in plots damaged by windstorm Carbon budget Increased C02 respiration Recreation Some impacts to ecosystem functions Water regulation Nutrient cycling Recreation Dead forest increase yearly by 1000 ha Aesthetic and recreation value heavily impacted, consequences to supporting and regulating services But also: security of visitors and fire risk Pest regulation
Ecosystem services changes after windstorm Ecosystem Service Change Ecosystem Service Change Provisioning Services Cultural Services Fiber Spiritual values Food Educational values Fresh Water Aesthetic values Regulating Services Sense of place Air quality regulation Climate regulation Water regulation Erosion regulation Pest regulation Natural hazard regulation Cultural heritage values Recreation and ecotourism Therapeutic service Supporting Services Primary production Nutrient cycling Water cycling
Ecosystem services changes Change against pre-disturbance state Fibre (Provisioning) 1 Primary Production (Supporting) 0 Water (Provisioning) -1 2008 2013 Recreation (Cultural) Air Quality (Regulating) Aesthetic (Cultural) Trend of crucial services change: 0 stable; positive values: increasing trend; negative values: decreasing trend
research: provides knowledge for understanding of ecosystem fuctioning and processes that determine ecosystem services regular, long-term measurements allow identification of changes in ecosystem provision and their reasons experiments in sites can test potential effects of driving factors (e.g. climate, pollution, disturbances) to ecosystem services this enables scientists to provide relevant feedback to policy and propose solutions of current and future environmental problems
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