Research on natural hazards and their impacts on forest ecosystems in terms of the incoming climate change

The project focuses on the research of natural hazards and their impacts on forest ecosystems in terms of emerging climate change in the most important forest ecosystems in Slovakia. Present knowledge of research processes and climate change scenarios of climate change by the end of this century is predicted to increase extremity climatic conditions that will occur mainly increased frequency of occurrence of torrential rainfall, floods, landslides, droughts, forest fires and landscape, wind, snow damage and population explosion harmful insects and pathogens. The proposed project is addressing the issue of changes in the water balance of forests, the risk assessment of increased water deficit and drought in the forest landscape. It addresses changes in growth processes modeling ecosystems in changing environmental conditions, as well as the responses of woody plants to growing natural hazards. The project evaluates the risks of climate change impacts on the profitability of the forest land, as well as potential changes in water management and societal functions of forests. It is expected the proposal of management, forest-technical and organizational adaptation measures aimed at reducing respectively. elimination of abiotic and biotic natural hazards in terms of changing climate of the 21st century.