Białowieża Primeval Forest: Nature and Culture in the Nineteenth Century

Samojlik, Tomasz; Fedotova, Anastasia; Daszkiewicz, Piotr; Rotherham, Ian D.

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-33479-6

Cited by 14 publications

(13 citation statements)

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“…The reasons behind this remain unclear. One of the explanations could be possible gaps in the historical source material (Samojlik et al, 2016), even though the amount of archival data on the environmental history of Białowieża Forest is growing constantly (Samojlik, 2010;Samojlik et al, 2020). An alternative explanation is that fires were so common and not worth mentioning, unless humans were negatively affected in some way, as has been demonstrated in a recent study of anthropogenic fire regimes in North America (McClain et al, 2021).…”

Section: Fire Extentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Tar and potash production were introduced (Hedemann, 1939;Samojlik, 2010), activities that involved use of fire (Brincken, 1826;Samojlik, 2016) and likely promoted fire occurrence (Niklasson et al, 2010). Traditional forest beekeeping, cattle pasturing, and collecting of the resinous Scots pine wood for kindling (that was chopped off from the bottom of the scorched tree trunks), all activities associated with the use of fire (Brincken, 1826;Genko, 1902Genko, -1903Samojlik et al, 2020), were common in the area at least since the 1500s (Hedemann, 1939;Samojlik et al, 2016Samojlik et al, , 2019.…”

Section: Fire Activitymentioning

confidence: 99%

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First Spatial Reconstruction of Past Fires in Temperate Europe Suggests Large Variability of Fire Sizes and an Important Role of Human-Related Ignitions

et al. 2022

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The spatial component of past forest fires in temperate Europe has been little studied, despite the value of such data in quantifying human and natural factors driving fire activity and associated forest dynamics. Changes in fire regimes reported across a range of ecosystems call for a better understanding of variability in historic fires and may help define reference points that can be relied upon when discussing climate change effects. We provide the first dendrochronological reconstruction of historical fire sizes in Central Europe and analyze the minimum extent of fires during the last four centuries in a 9.2 km2 (920 ha) conifer-dominated section of Białowieża Forest, one of the largest continuous lowland forests of the subcontinent. We recorded 82 fires between 1666 and 1946, using 275 sample trees, while 92% of fires (76 out of 82) spread beyond the studied area. Fires varied considerably in size, from events recorded at only one site (1–200 ha) to fires recorded in more than half of the studied area, thus exceeding 500 ha in size. The fire cycle was 11 years over the whole study period, with three distinct periods revealed by the regime shift analysis. In the years 1670–1750, the fire cycle averaged 12 years. It shortened to 7 years between 1755–1840 and increased to 22 years over the 1845–1955 period. In comparison with present day data, the reconstructed fire density of 3.2 fires per 100 km2 (10 000 ha) and year exceeded lightning ignition density by one to two orders of magnitude, suggesting a significant contribution of human-related ignitions. Our results highlight the important role of fire disturbance in Białowieża Forest and provide critical baseline information to design biological conservation strategies for European forests.

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Section: Fire Extentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Fire Activitymentioning

confidence: 99%

First Spatial Reconstruction of Past Fires in Temperate Europe Suggests Large Variability of Fire Sizes and an Important Role of Human-Related Ignitions

et al. 2022

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“…The arthropod-pathogenic fungi were also investigated by prof. S. Bałazy and his Polish-Belarusian team [107] in both parts of BPF. They reported 36 species from Entomophthorales (26), Hypocreales (7), and Eurotiales (3) isolated from insects, soil, and leaf-litter samples from the Polish part of BPF.…”

Section: The 21st Century and Genetic Advancementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The continuous forest cover has been present there for close to 12,000 years, and substantial fragments of close-to-primeval forest have survived [6]. Natural and best-preserved forest stands show a high richness of plant species, varied age and layer structure, as well as an abundance of dead wood lying on the forest floor [1,4,[7][8][9][10] (Figure 2).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Białowieża Primeval Forest, and the Białowieża National Park, in particular, are often considered a refuge for diverse groups of organisms [4,6,7,11,12], as well as a model ecosystem for the study of the ecology of the natural temperate forest [10,[13][14][15][16]. Ecological processes occur naturally and stimulate the forest's self-renewal without human intervention [17,18].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Known, the Unknown, and the Expected: 130 Years of Research on Non-Lichenized Fungi and Fungus-Like Organisms in the Białowieża Primeval Forest, Poland

Janik-Superson

Ruszkiewicz‐Michalska

Kozlowska

et al. 2021

Forests

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The history of mycological research and current activities in the Polish part of the Białowieża Primeval Forest are presented. The review of literature-derived and unpublished data on species of non-lichenized fungi and protozoan and chromistan fungal analogues indicates a minimum of 3504 species observed in this area. The gaps in the exploration of fungi: unstudied taxa, plant communities, habitats, hosts, and substrates, as well as the limitations of former studies, are discussed. Our estimates show that a total of 8000 fungal species possibly occur in the Białowieża National Park alone, and more than 10,000 are expected to be found in the Polish part of the Białowieża Primeval Forest. Despite more than a centennial history of mycological research, the majority of data come from only a few older scientific projects and several more recent citizen-science-related activities, emphasizing the need for a modern, interdisciplinary study on the diversity and ecology of fungi in this area.

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Patterns of avian tree usage in the primeval temperate forests of Białowieża National Park

Karpińska,

Kamionka‐Kanclerska,

Czortek

et al. 2024

Ecology and Evolution

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Species distribution and resource utilization are a fundamental aspect of ecology. By analyzing the tree space usage by birds and determining the species composition of birds across different parts of trees, our study could shed light on the mechanisms shaping co‐occurrence patterns in bird communities. Therefore, our study aimed to determine the species composition of birds across different parts of trees. We investigated whether species richness differs between positions on a tree and how these positions influence the probability of occurrence of the 10 most frequently observed bird species. To achieve this, we observed birds within permanent plots in Białowieża National Park (BNP) and analyzed the distribution patterns of birds within six vertical and three horizontal sectors of trees. The compositional dissimilarity between tree sectors was assessed using detrended correspondence analysis. We employed generalized linear mixed‐effects models to examine differences in species richness. The majority of the BNP bird community was associated with the branches, while other birds occupied the tree crown trunks and the understory trunks. Species richness was the highest on branches in the crown part of trees, followed by lower species richness on trunks associated with crowns, and the lowest richness was observed on branches and trunks in the understory. These results indicate that branches in the middle and lower parts of the crown serve as avian diversity hotspots on trees, likely due to the abundance of various food sources. The differing patterns of tree usage by specific bird species may suggest the avoidance of interspecific competition for resources. The study results of tree usage by bird species obtained in the primeval forest provides a reference point for studies conducted in human‐altered woods.

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Białowieża Primeval Forest: Nature and Culture in the Nineteenth Century

Cited by 14 publications

References 0 publications

First Spatial Reconstruction of Past Fires in Temperate Europe Suggests Large Variability of Fire Sizes and an Important Role of Human-Related Ignitions

First Spatial Reconstruction of Past Fires in Temperate Europe Suggests Large Variability of Fire Sizes and an Important Role of Human-Related Ignitions

The Known, the Unknown, and the Expected: 130 Years of Research on Non-Lichenized Fungi and Fungus-Like Organisms in the Białowieża Primeval Forest, Poland

Patterns of avian tree usage in the primeval temperate forests of Białowieża National Park

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