Papers by Vlastimil Murgaš
Central European Forestry Journal
The decision to change forest management system from the traditional even-aged to the selection o... more The decision to change forest management system from the traditional even-aged to the selection one based on statistical inventory is often limited by a missing previous inventory. To avoid this issue, we used available forest inventory data from ca 2 000 ha of mixed uneven-aged beech-fir-spruce-pine forest and tree ring data from 831 trees to reconstruct forest status from one decade ago. For this purpose, we have created three sets of species-specific models: 1) diameter-stump models to reconstruct the diameter of missing trees, 2) diameter-increment models based on tree ring data to estimate past diameters, and 3) height-diameter models to estimate past tree heights. This approach has allowed us to completely reconstruct the state of the forest as it was ten years ago and use the results as a substitution for a previously missing inventory.
Central European Forestry Journal
The study presented a bioeconomic modelling approach for an uneven-aged mixed forest management p... more The study presented a bioeconomic modelling approach for an uneven-aged mixed forest management planning. Regression models for transition (increment), and ingrowth (regeneration) used the National Forest Inventory (NFI) of Slovakia and regional inventory data. Mortality was based on salvage logging records. Models were specific for five tree species within three forest types (FT) (oak with hornbeam and beech, beech, mixed fir-beech-spruce). Net timber prices were calculated with regard to stem quality. Tree growth depended on crown characteristics. The regression models were adjusted to three main geobiotope (GBT) sites per FT. Forest growth was simulated with the density-dependent stand-level matrix transition model. Financial optimisation of harvest was sensitive to an interest rate. Long-time optimisation stabilised in a steady state equilibrium characterised by a stable diameter distribution. Target diameters were specific for site and tree species, and were highest for fir, a ...
Forests
European hornbeam (Carpinus betulus L.) is a tree species widely distributed in Europe and the As... more European hornbeam (Carpinus betulus L.) is a tree species widely distributed in Europe and the Asian part of the Near East. However, since European hornbeam is not very attractive for commercial purposes, scientific interest in this species has been rather sparse. Our study focused on dense young (up to 10 years old) European hornbeam stands originating from natural regeneration from seeds in Slovakia because in future the importance of this species may increase due to the climate change. We combined previously constructed tree-level biomass models, data on basic leaf traits, i.e., weight and area, and measurements from thirty plots located at ten different sites across Slovakia to construct stand-level allometric relations of the biomass stock in tree components, i.e., leaves, branches, bark, stem under bark and roots, to mean stand diameter at stem base, i.e., at the ground level. Moreover, we calculated and modelled leaf characteristics, namely the specific leaf area (SLA), leaf ...
Plants, Apr 10, 2023
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
Changing Patterns of Natural Dynamics in Old-Growth European Beech (Fagus Sylvatica L.) Forests Can Inspire Forest Management in Central Europe
SSRN Electronic Journal
Funding for planting missing species financially supports the conversion from pure even-aged to uneven-aged mixed forests and climate change mitigation
European Journal of Forest Research
Sustainability, 2020
The forestry and forest-based sector play a significant role in climate change mitigation strateg... more The forestry and forest-based sector play a significant role in climate change mitigation strategies and can contribute to the achievement of a climate-neutral economy. In this context, the ability of harvested wood products (HWP) to sequester carbon is of significant importance. The objective of this work is to make a projection of climate change mitigation potential of HWP, under different scenarios of wood utilization in Slovakia. This study builds on the comparison of different scenarios of industrial wood utilization till 2035 and presents the resulting impacts on the national carbon balance. The results suggest that the development of timber supplies after 2020 in Slovakia will be influenced, in particular, by the future changes in the age distribution and tree species composition as well as the extent of future accidental felling. Consequently, a predicted structure and availability of wood resources in Slovakia will be reflected in a higher share of the production of product...
The bioeconomy focuses on the production of renewable biological resources and the utilisation of... more The bioeconomy focuses on the production of renewable biological resources and the utilisation of these resources and waste streams into value added products. One of the most important aims of the forest industry is the sustainable production of wood. Improved utilization of available industrial wood assortments generates profit for all in the supply chain. At the same time, it may ensure the production of long-life harvested wood products (HWP), and consequently, increase the volume of carbon stored. The objective of this study is to compare different scenarios of industrial wood utilization in Slovakia and the resulting impacts on the national carbon balance. In the proposed scenarios, we aimed to evaluate changes in the current utilization of domestic wood resources through optimizing harvested wood assortments. Two inventory stock methods were applied to determine the potential quality of domestic wood and its utilization through appropriate distribution of outputs. The model scenario assumes that the higher share of industrial roundwood utilised to produce long-life HWP (sawnwood, wood-based panels) will increase carbon sequestration in HWP. Other scenarios quantify the differences between the carbon volumes stored in HWP using the modelled wood assortment supplemented with alternatives with and without export. The results confirmed that increasing the level of carbon stored in HWP can be achieved by changing the wood assortment structure, while maintaining the same level of volume felled. The highest level of carbon stock was observed in the scenario assuming the optimal structure of wood assortments and no wood export. The scenario that optimized wood assortments and excluded wood exports resulted in the highest level of predicted carbon stock, estimated at 4.87 million tons (mil. tons).
Forests
The bioeconomy focuses on the production of renewable biological resources and the utilisation of... more The bioeconomy focuses on the production of renewable biological resources and the utilisation of these resources and waste streams into value added products. One of the most important aims of the forest industry is the sustainable production of wood. Improved utilization of available industrial wood assortments generates profit for all in the supply chain. At the same time, it may ensure the production of long-life harvested wood products (HWP), and consequently, increase the volume of carbon stored. The objective of this study is to compare different scenarios of industrial wood utilization in Slovakia and the resulting impacts on the national carbon balance. In the proposed scenarios, we aimed to evaluate changes in the current utilization of domestic wood resources through optimizing harvested wood assortments. Two inventory stock methods were applied to determine the potential quality of domestic wood and its utilization through appropriate distribution of outputs. The model sc...
Journal of Forest Science
Global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) have a wide range of applications in forest industry, ... more Global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) have a wide range of applications in forest industry, including forest inventory. In this study, the horizontal accuracy of 45 inventory plots in different forest environments and 5 inventory plots under open sky conditions were examined. The inventory plots were located using a mapping-grade GNSS receiver during leaf-on season in 2017. True coordinates of the plot centres were acquired using a survey-grade GNSS receiver during leaf-off season in 2018. A study was conducted across a range of forest conditions in the forest unit Vígľaš, which is located in Slovakia (Central Europe). Root mean square error of horizontal accuracies was 8.45 m in the plots under forest canopy and 6.61 m under open sky conditions. We note decreased positional errors in coniferous forests as well as in younger forests. However, results showed that there is no statistically significant effect of tree species composition and stand age on horizontal accuracy.
Age estimation of Norway spruce using incomplete increment cores: Testing new and improved methods
Dendrochronologia, 2014
ABSTRACT Information on tree age is often vital for dendrochronological studies, especially when ... more ABSTRACT Information on tree age is often vital for dendrochronological studies, especially when the Regional Curve Standardisation technique is used. Several linear and non-linear methods of tree age estimation using partial increment cores (without the presence of pith) were evaluated and modified to provide more accurate estimations than are currently used. To achieve the objective, core samples from 142 Norway spruce trees (Picea abies [L.] Karst.) were collected from an altitudinal gradient in the Western Carpathians. The samples in which the pith was included were then used for further analyses. Several known age estimation approaches were adjusted to combine the advantages of direct increment- and indirect age-diameter-based methods. Inverse differential forms of non-linear growth functions were tested and proposed as a new advanced approach for age estimation. The results show that most of the modified linear methods achieved a mean square error of less than 10% when the length of the partial core exceeded 90% of the stem radius and less than 20% when the length of the core was at least 60% of the stem radius. Using an appropriate differential form of the non-linear growth functions, a mean square error of less than 20% was reached, even when the core length was shorter than 60% of the radius. The results show that current linear methods for age estimation can only be used if the missing part of the core sample is very short, with only a few rings absent. In the case of a large number of missing rings, a differential form of non-linear functions should preferably be used instead.
Central European Forestry Journal, Sep 26, 2017
The decision to change forest management system from the traditional even-aged to the selection o... more The decision to change forest management system from the traditional even-aged to the selection one based on statistical inventory is often limited by a missing previous inventory. To avoid this issue, we used available forest inventory data from ca 2 000 ha of mixed uneven-aged beech-fir-spruce-pine forest and tree ring data from 831 trees to reconstruct forest status from one decade ago. For this purpose, we have created three sets of species-specific models: 1) diameter-stump models to reconstruct the diameter of missing trees, 2) diameter-increment models based on tree ring data to estimate past diameters, and 3) height-diameter models to estimate past tree heights. This approach has allowed us to completely reconstruct the state of the forest as it was ten years ago and use the results as a substitution for a previously missing inventory.
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Papers by Vlastimil Murgaš