Department of Environmental Resources and Geohazards, Institute of Geography and Spatial Organisation, Polish Academy of Sciences, Twarda 51/55, 00-818, Warsaw, Poland.
Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Monitoring & Department of Biogeography and Paleoecology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Bogumiła Krygowskiego 10, 61-680, Poznań, Poland.
J Environ Manage. 2019 Apr 15;236:755-768. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.02.002. Epub 2019 Feb 15.
In recent decades, it has been observed that most forest fires in Europe were caused by people. Extreme droughts, which are more often prolonged, can increase the risk of forest fires, not only in southern Europe but also, in Central Europe. Nonetheless, catastrophic fire events are not well recognized in the Central European Lowlands (CEL), where large forest complexes are located. Knowledge of past fire activity in this part of Europe is scarce, although several fires have occurred in this area during the previous millennia. Large coniferous forest monocultures located in the CEL are highly susceptible to fires and other disturbances. Here, we present a case study from the Tuchola Pinewoods (TP; northern Poland), where large pine monocultures are present. The main aim of this study is to document the potential effects past land management has on modern day disturbance regimes using state-of-the-art paleoecological data, historical documents and cartographic materials. We then present a protocol that will help forest managers utilize long-term paleoecological records. Based on paleoecological investigations, historical documents, and cartographic materials, our results show that, in the past 300 years, the TP witnessed not only disastrous fires and but also windfalls by tornados and insect outbreaks. A change in management from Polish to Prussian/German in the 18th century led to the transformation of mixed forests into Scots pine monocultures with the purpose to allow better economic use of the forest. Those administrative decisions led to an ecosystem highly susceptible to disturbances. This article provides a critical review of past forest management as well as future research directions related to the impacts of fire risk on land management and ecosystem services: (a) habitat composition and structure (biodiversity); (b) natural water management; and (c) mitigation of climate changes. Designated forest conditions, management, and future fire risk are a controversial and highly debated topic of forest management by Forestry Units. More research will allow the gathering of reliable information pertinent to management practices with regard to the current fire risks. It is necessary to develop a dialog between scientists and managers to reduce the risk of fires in projected climate change.
近几十年来，人们观察到欧洲大部分森林火灾是由人类引起的。更频繁、持续时间更长的极端干旱会增加森林火灾的风险，不仅在南欧，在中欧也是如此。尽管如此，中欧低地（CEL）并没有很好地认识到灾难性的火灾事件，那里有大片的森林。尽管在过去的几千年里，这个地区发生了几起火灾，但人们对欧洲这一地区过去的火灾活动知之甚少。CEL 中位于的大型针叶林单一树种林极易发生火灾和其他干扰。在这里，我们展示了来自 Tuchola 松林（TP；波兰北部）的一个案例研究，那里有大片的松树单一树种林。本研究的主要目的是利用最先进的古生态学数据、历史文献和制图材料，记录过去土地管理对现代干扰机制的潜在影响。然后，我们提出了一个协议，帮助森林管理者利用长期的古生态学记录。基于古生态学调查、历史文献和制图材料，我们的研究结果表明，在过去的 300 年里，TP 不仅见证了灾难性的火灾，还见证了龙卷风和虫害爆发带来的树木倒伏。18 世纪，波兰的管理方式向波兰和德国的混合管理方式的转变，目的是为了更好地经济利用森林。这些行政决策导致了一个对干扰非常敏感的生态系统。本文对过去的森林管理进行了批判性的回顾，并提出了与火灾风险对土地管理和生态系统服务的影响相关的未来研究方向：（a）生境组成和结构（生物多样性）；（b）自然水资源管理；（c）减缓气候变化。指定的森林条件、管理和未来的火灾风险是林业单位森林管理中一个有争议和备受争议的话题。更多的研究将有助于收集与当前火灾风险相关的管理实践的可靠信息。有必要在科学家和管理者之间建立对话，以降低气候变化预测中火灾的风险。
