Disturbance processes and the structural dynamics of natural forests in orographic units Oravské Beskydy and Kremnické Mts.

The grant proposal is aimed on the achievement of information dealing with recent structure and disturbance processes in connection with the bark-beetle (Ips typographus L.) outbreak in spruce natural forests Babia Hora and Pilsko. Current fragmented breakdown of spruce mountain forests followed by their natural recovery will be analyzed using the methods of dendrochronology primarily oriented on the frequency and severity of historical disturbances. Research effort will result in the complex database of spruce tree ring series that represents a complex information pool about past climatic patterns, occurrence of damage factors and overall stand dynamic of researched forest ecosystems in the time span of several centuries.