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Abstract:The regional effects of climate change on forest ecosystems in the temperate climate zone of Europe can be modelled as shifts of forest vegetation zones in the landscape, northward and to higher elevations. This study applies a biogeographical model of climate conditions in the forest vegetation zones of the Central European landscape, in order to predict the impact of future climate change on the most widespread tree species in European deciduous forests-the European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.). The biogeographical model is supported by a suite of software applications in the GIS environment. The model outputs are defined as a set of conditions -climate scenario A1B by the Special Report on Emission Scenarios (SRES) for a forecast period, for a specified geographical area and with ecological conditions appropriate for the European beech, which provide regional scenarios for predicted future climatic conditions in the context of the European beech's environmental requirements. These predicted changes can be graphically visualized. The results of the model scenarios for regional climate change show that in the Czech Republic from 2070 onwards, optimal growing conditions for the European beech will only exist in some parts of those areas where it currently occurs naturally. Based on these results, it is highly recommended that the national strategy for sustainable forest management in the Czech Republic be partly re-evaluated. Thus, the presented biogeographical model of climate conditions in forest vegetation zones can be applied, not only to generate regional scenarios of climate change in the landscape, but also as a support tool for the development of a sustainable forest management strategy.

Citation: Machar I, Vozenilek V, Simon J, Pechanec V, Brus J, Fulneček P, Vitek T (2017) Joining of the historical research and future prediction as a support tool for the assessment of management strategy for European beech-dominated forests in protected areas. Nature Conservation 22: 51-78. https://doi.org/10.3897/natureconservation.22.12902 AbstractEuropean beech-dominated forests are crucial for maintaining biodiversity in forested mountain landscapes of the European temperate zone. This paper presents the results of research and assessment of management strategy for mountain beech-dominated forests in the Jeseníky Mountains (Czech Republic). Our approach is based on combining research on historical development of the forest ecosystem, assessment of its current state, and predictions of future dynamics using a forest growth simulation model. Using such a method makes it possible to understand the current state of the mountain beech-dominated forest ecosystem and predict its future development as a response to specific management strategies. The application of this method is therefore appropriate for assessing the suitability of selected management strategies in mountain protected areas. Our results show that a non-intervention management for mountain beech forest in the next 80 years complies with the Natura 2000 requirement to maintain the existing character of the forest habitat. Thus, the current management plan for the beech-dominated forests in the Jeseníky Mountains does not require significant corrections in the context of its conservation targets (i.e. maintaining biodiversity and current character of the forest ecosystem dominated by beech). The results of this study suggest that combining the knowledge on historical development with forest growth simulation can be used as a suitable support tool to assess management strategies for forest habitats in protected areas. RESEARCH ARTICLE Launched to accelerate biodiversity conservation A peer-reviewed open-access journalIvo Machar et al. / Nature Conservation 22: 51-78 (2017) 52

Introduction: Kuala Lumpur is currently experiencing a large-scale urban transformation. This study explores a multi-buffer ring method to investigate the spatial and temporal dynamics of urban growth in the Kuala Lumpur metropolitan area by using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and remote sensing imageries from1989 to 2014. Methods: The first Landsat images from 1989, 2001, and 2014 were classified with maximum likelihood classification to produce land cover maps and identify four types of land cover: urban/built-up, agriculture, forest, and water. Then, the area coverage for all the land use types at different points in time were measured and combined with distance from the city center. Later on, urbanization densities from the city center to the outside for every 1-km distance from 1 to 50 km are calculated. Results: City density on the distance of 5, 8, 15, 20, and 30 km was very high in the years 1989 and 2014. Temporally, urban expansion shows fast and slow growth stages with high-speed growth shifting to the east side of the city. Conclusions: In general, the population, traffic conditions, industrialization, and policy are the major factors thatinfluenced the urban expansion

The paper and the maps deal with analysis of Olomouc city development that was based on GIS processing. The first step of the following analysis was digitization of all city plans created in the twentieth century. The new city plan that is going to be finalized in 2011 was also included in this analysis. Altogether four city plans from 1930, 1955, 1985 and 1999 were collected, digitized and analyzed. The main result of this work is a set of maps that shows how serious the changes in Olomouc city in the last few decades were. The maps are not only documents of the status of each functional area in the studied periods. In the form of synthesis, the maps also show stability and instability of spatial functional structure. The maps can be used as a significant source of information about developments of Olomouc city during the twentieth century. The results can be used as an important source for a number of geographical or urban studies, both for experts and the general public.

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