Speaker
Description
Forest ecosystems in Southeastern Europe have experienced increasingly frequent and severe natural disturbances over recent decades, particularly wildfires, windstorms, and ice storms. Climate change, manifested through rising average temperatures, prolonged drought periods, and more frequent extreme weather events, has significantly increased the vulnerability of forests to various types of damage. The resulting impacts include timber loss, reduced stand stability, an increased risk of secondary pest outbreaks, and a decline in the ecological, protective, and economic functions provided by forests.
This paper provides an overview of the most significant natural disturbances affecting forests in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Slovenia, and examines their common characteristics and consequences. In Croatia, the most severe damage is caused by wildfires in the coastal region, as well as by windthrow and ice damage in continental and mountainous forests. Bosnia and Herzegovina faces frequent wildfires in the Mediterranean and sub-Mediterranean regions of Herzegovina, while windthrow and snow damage periodically affect mountainous areas, creating additional challenges for sustainable forest management. In Slovenia, the catastrophic ice storm of 2014 stands out as one of the most significant natural disturbance events, followed by extensive outbreaks of bark beetles that further increased ecological and economic losses.
The analysis indicates that natural disturbances increasingly occur in combination, with one disturbance often increasing the likelihood of another. For example, windthrow and ice damage create large volumes of weakened and fallen timber that provide favorable conditions for bark beetle infestations, while prolonged drought significantly increases the risk of wildfire occurrence and spread. These trends highlight the need to adapt forest management practices by enhancing forest resilience, developing early warning systems, improving wildfire prevention and response measures, and implementing sustainable restoration approaches that account for projected climate change. Maintaining the stability and resilience of forests in Southeastern Europe is therefore one of the major challenges of contemporary forestry and a prerequisite for conserving biodiversity, maintaining carbon storage, and ensuring the sustainable use of forest resources.
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