Drought and its impact on the bio-production of forests

The precipitation deficit, heat waves and subsequent drought significantly affected the forests in the Czech Republic. Primarily, forests were affected by physiological insufficiency and later by biotic and abiotic factors. On the initiative of the Ministry of the Environment of the Czech Republic, a study of the condition and damage of forest functions in the model area was formulated. The study was aimed at the model locality of the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands, especially the forest management unit of the Da?ice municipality (South Bohemian Region). The study uses certified national methodologies for evaluating forest function damage (Vyskot et al. 2003; Vyskot et al. 2014). This paper specifies the state and damage of the bio-production function depending on the represented forest management groups, stand types of woody plants and age phases of stands, in terms of value (in %) and finance in Czech koruna (CZK, the currency of the Czech Republic). In particular, spruce stands and their dominant mixtures of non-matured and fully matured trees were affected by major damage of a destructive nature. Due to the changed ecosystem conditions, a modified concept of forest management was proposed.