Тенденції динаміки типів лісорослинних умов і породного складу деревостанів Українських Карпат у зв’язку зі змінами клімату

Global climate changes have already significantly changed the conditions for forestry in the Ukrainian Carpathians. Because of the massive spruce forests decline many enterprises are forced to reorient their forestry activities to planting marketable wood of other species. Climatopes of the Carpathian region became warmer and drier by one, and often – by two classes of hygrotopes during 2010-2019. The change in the sum of active temperatures in this period has a clear trend toward an increase according to the data of all regional weather stations – from 16% in the plain conditions and up to 36% – in the mountains. Growing season increases accordingly, which is a significant reason for changes in the species composition of subformations and formations. Climatic changes have changed the areas of a natural distribution of the main species in the region: some of them (Norway spruce – Рісеа abies (L.) H. Karst.) sharply reduced their area, while others (Common beech – Fagus sylvatica L., Silver fir – Abies alba Mill.) expanded their areas. With the continuation of actual climate changes, the species composition of plant sub-formations will continue to change by natural way. Therefore, the climatogenic changes in forest types (forest conditions + species composition) in the Ukrainian Carpathians have to be identified. Right now, the greatest changes are in spruce forests of the Ukrainian Carpathians – the place of Norway spruce, which declined, is mainly occupied by Silver fir and Common beech. According to forest inventory data, an increase in the area of Common beech and Silver fir forests restored due to a decrease in the area of Norway spruce forests practically in all regional forestry enterprises. However, in the natural regeneration of declining forest stands, with the participation of spruce, fir and beech in their species compositions, Common beech clearly prevails, and this suggests that global warming in the Carpathian region has improved site conditions mainly for the beech forests. Therefore, it is relevant to identify the trends of these changes for the correct selection of the main species for the regional forest types and natural altitudinal areas. It has been found that climatogenic changes in the forests of the Ukrainian Carpathians are going in the following directions: a) oak-beech forests are transforming into beech-oak forests with a hygrotope change from “fresh” to “dry”. b) beech-fir forests – into fir-beech forests with a hygrotope change from “wet” to “fresh”. c) hornbeam-beech forests – into hornbeam-oak-beech forests with a hygrotope change from “wet” to “fresh”. d) spruce-beech-fir forests – into spruce-fir-beech or fir-beech forests with a hygrotope change from “wet” to “fresh”. e) beech-spruce-fir forests – into spruce-fir-beech or fir-beech forests with a hygrotope change from “raw” and “wet” to “fresh”. f) soddy meadows and alpine pastures are intensively overgrown with Norway spruce, Common juniper and Green alder plant formations. The urgent need for forest types mapping for forestry enterprises in the Carpathian region during their next inventory with the aim of field identification of existing forest types is ascertained.