Predicted occurrence of ancient coppice woodlands in the Czech Republic
2017
Abstract:
Coppicingstarted in the Neolithic period and has been practiced throughout European history. This traditional
silviculturalsystem was abandoned in many European countries during the 20th century. The
Czech
Republicnow has a very low proportion of
coppicewoods (CW), as more than 1000 km2 CW were converted into
high forestsafter World War II. Nevertheless, many CW were maintained as stored
coppices, which could be the last
remaindersof ancient
coppicewoods (ACW) in the
Czech
Republic. Knowledge of area and distribution of stored
coppicesis currently missing in the
Czech
Republic, because they are recorded as
high forestsin forest management plans. Many stored forests are currently approaching the maturity age, with a high risk that these last ACW
remainderswill be lost; therefore, an inventory of ancient
coppicewoods is necessary. In our study, we develop an index of likelihood of
coppiceoccurrence (COP) based on the distribution of habitats favourable for
coppices, as well as on past and current occurrence of CW in the
Czech
Republicfrom historical maps. COP index values were then used to generate a map showing the relative likelihoods of occurrence of ACW, which can serve as a baseline to support the compilation of an ACW inventory and their mapping in the field. Our results can help prioritize forest areas to be inventoried based on their higher probabilities of ACW occurrence.
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