7/30/2019 Assessing Vulnerability of Forest Sector to Climate Change

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Assessing vulnerability of Montenegrin forest sector to climate change

Montenegrin forests and forest land are an extremely important ecosystem and economic resource with

multiple role: they are important producers of biomass, sources of healthy and high-quality forest fruits,

medicinal herbs and mushrooms, an important habitat for wild plant and animal species, the main factor

for the maintenance and regulation of hydrological regime, provide protection from landslides anderosion, absorb significant volumes of carbon and represent the main air-purifying system. Climate

change and air pollutants are the initial predisposing factors that operate over a longer period of time

and that lead to physiological weakening of the plants. The forests of reduced vitality are highly subject

to the attacks by parasites, weaknesses and secondary insect pests. The infectious potential and

aggressiveness of the pathogens is often enormously increased by warmer climate, so that these

become the dominant factor in the spread of disease. Secondary pests can also multiply quickly,

resulting in their gradation, so that they become primary and attack healthy trees. Adverse factors

operate simultaneously, or occur in succession.

The Initial National Communication of Montenegro to UNFCCC report identified that drying of forests

has a global character with a trend of further increase of intensity; it is somewhat selective with respect

to individual tree species, their structural form, stand age and site quality, which leads to progressive

degradation of forest ecosystems, and reduces the production potential of forests. Projected weather

characteristics (temperature and precipitation) will initiate numerous negative impacts on forest

ecosystems and positive impacts on the distribution and physiological state of insects (such as

defoliators, bark beetles) and phytopathogenic fungi (e.g. powdery mildew, causers of diseases of fungal

assimilation organs and polypore mushrooms). An indirect effect of temperature increase is reflected in

the fact that the insects are poikilothermic organisms so that as the temperature is increasing the

conditions for their development become closer to an optimum. Pests will also extend to the north. Mild

winters will provide additionally favorable conditions for their survival through the winter. Therefore it is

recommended that prevention of adverse effects of climate change to the forest sector in Montenegro

that are inevitable due to changes on the value of climatic factors it is necessary to implement measures

such as application of forest management system that support and protect sustainable forestmanagement, etc.

UNDP Montenegro is supporting Government of Montenegro in assessing vulnerability of forest sector

to pests and plant diseases. As part of the Environmental monitoring programme a report is prepared

which is addressing seven tree species in Montenegro and assessing their vulnerability to plant diseases

and parasites. In addition to general information on area of disbursement and main characteristics for

the seven tree species and on available GIS maps and layers the report is providing review of timber

stock and its structure for the seven tree species and addresses changes in forest ecosystem in recent

decades. It elaborates on how changes in temperature and precipitation for the last 30 years impacts

forest ecosystems and what is the vulnerability of forest ecosystems to pests and diseases to climate

change. Detailed information about fires, frequency of occurrence, affected areas and destroyed timbervolume and related economic damages is a very important part of the report, as well as further analyzes

of value of wood of economically important/interesting tree species such as beech, Norway spruce and

Sessile oak.

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