Inaccessibility determines primary forests distribution in the Western Carpathians, but their future is not guaranteed

Abstract

Currently, most forest landscapes are intensively managed and primary forests around the world are disappearing rapidly with strong negative impacts on biodiversity. However, national inventories of primary forests and consistent methodology to conduct these assessments are absent, which results in further loss of these unique ecosystems. We developed a comprehensive methodological approach to identify primary forests, and we conducted a complete national inventory within the territory of Slovak Republic (49,036 km2). We analyzed the primary forest distribution pattern and studied whether the last primary forests represented all types of potential forest vegetation. We also evaluated the area of primary forests destroyed and endangered by logging in the last decade. We identified 10.282 ha of primary forest remnants, which represent 0.47% of the total forested area and only 0.2% of the entire landscape. The distribution of primary forests was clustered. Primary forests were preserved in relatively higher elevations, steeper slopes, and undulating terrains (contrast relative relief). They were located in greater distances from roads and settlements compared to other forest habitats. Primary forests did not represent all types of the potential natural vegetation. Several habitat types are completely missing (e.g., flood plain forests). Despite the small total area of these valuable primary ecosystems, more than 30% of them are directly endangered by logging. Between 2009 and 2017, logging occurred on 27 localities, and 144.53 ha of primary forests was destroyed, mainly by the salvage logging. Primary forests are exposed to an increased pressure of rapidly developing forest management technology and forest product demands. Road construction increases accessibility in mountain areas that have been largely protected due to their inaccessibility for centuries. Protected areas, such as national parks or NATURA 2000 sites, do not ensure conservation of primary forests, and alarmingly 90% of logging in primary forests was conducted in national parks. Our extensive study highlights the ineffectiveness of protected areas in Europe and the importance of national primary forest inventories; we recommend the inclusion of European primary forest conservation strategies to stop the rapid loss of the last primary forests and their unique biodiversity.