Forest structure in the spruce-fir-beech primeval forest of Chornohora

Mountainous mixed spruce-fir-beech forests are naturally occurring forest communities in the montane belt of central and south European mountains such as the Alps, Carpathians and the Dinaric Mountains. Small primeval remains of these types of forest communities can be found in the Alps and the Carpathians. However, large populations of ungulates (mainly deer and roe deer) disturb these communities, impairing the natural regeneration, primarily of fir. This also applies to many Swiss spruce-fir-beech forests (managed forests and forest reserves, e.g. Leihubelwald, Streit & Heiri 2011). Many primeval spruce-fir-beech forests can still be found within the CBR in Chornohora and Marmarosch. They are some of the largest forests of this community type in Europe and have very low ungulate populations, which makes them very interesting for the research of forest dynamics, especially the interaction between tree species. Up until now, not much research has been done in these primeval forests in the Ukrainian Carpathians.

To invest in the infrastructure and as a basis for future research in the area of forest dynamics, 4 permanent plots with a size of 1 ha each will be established and recorded in the primeval forest of Chornohora. The stand structure and forest condition will be analyzed within the context of a master thesis.