Forest Fires, Stakeholders’ Activities, and Economic Impact on State-Level Sustainable Forest Management

Abstract

In Europe, forest fires are a serious and constant threat. They destroy forests and forest land, causing damage, financial loss, and long-lasting impacts on forest ecosystem services. There are several ways to decrease the number of forest fires, including continuous investment in fire prevention measures and the intensive implementation of adaptive sustainable forest management measures, which need additional financial resources. In many cases, forest management activities in karst forests are not implemented in a timely manner and in coordination with other stakeholders. A comprehensive study about the impact of forest fires on different economic activities (tourism and protected areas) is not currently available. In this study, the legislative framework in Croatia was analysed in relation to the fire protection activities and jurisdictions of different institutions. From data collected in the period 2013–2020, the first-age class afforestation costs and growing stock assortment value were calculated, and the non-wood forest functions were estimated. The aforementioned data were further compared to the Fire Weather Index (FWI) and Seasonal Severity Rating (SSR) of fire seasons. The total estimated damage is EUR 326,810,724.72. The research emphasises the need for the implementation of cross-sectoral forest policy measures. The state forest company should allocate more financial resources for biological forest restoration in the future. Forest management practices should implement climate-adaptable silviculture measures to preserve forest and forest land.

Seed Quantity and Quality Variation in European Beech (Fagus sylvatica L.)

“…Since these impacts are expected to be stronger and faster than on the rest of the continent, Croatia provides an optimal framework for studying the future impact of changing climatic conditions on the seed production. Croatian forests are greatly influenced by climate change (Dümenil Gates 2001, Spinoni et al 2013, both directly through the changes of abiotic conditions and habitat suitability, as well as indirectly through the increased frequency and intensity of disturbances such as wind storms, forest fires, snowbreakes and ice storms (Vuletić et al 2014, Posavec 2023). In the future, Croatia is expected to be hotter and drier (Pašičko et al 2012), with considerable impacts on forest ecosystems.…”