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Wildlife damage to forests has become an increasingly serious problem in recent years, and its impact is exacerbated by ongoing climate change. Rising temperatures, prolonged droughts, uneven precipitation distribution, and other factors affect forest ecosystems, which, in turn, affect cloven-hoofed animal populations, their food preferences, and ultimately, the extent of damage they cause. Based on 133 references, this review article focuses on the relationships between wildlife damage and climate change and presents possible strategies to address this issue in the Czech Republic. Wildlife damage includes not just browsing and fraying in natural and artificial regeneration but also damage to trees from bark stripping and the lesser-known rooting of seedlings. Concerning tree species, browsing is most damaging to silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) and sycamore maple (Acer pseudoplatanus L.). The enticement to wildlife increases as the proportion of the tree species in the stand decreases. Browse damage is more severe at the edge of the stand. Bark stripping and secondary rot cause the most damage to the production quality of Norway spruce (Picea abies [L.] Karst.). Total wildlife damage increases with elevation. Combined with the progress of climate change, game-induced damage significantly restricts close-to-nature forest management practices and limits the use of adaptive measures in response to climate change. In addition, mixed forests with species that attract wildlife and the rapid increase in the number of clearings following bark beetle salvage logging significantly increase game pressure. This is primarily the result of the overpopulation of native and introduced game species and the considerable inconsistency between forest and hunting management practices, with the latter not respecting the principle of ecologically tolerable game damage.

On the one hand, the European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) is the tree of the future due to ongoing climate changes, on the other hand, there are questions about its expansion and economic use as a replacement for the declining Norway spruce (Picea abies [L.] Karst.). This literature review examines 140 studies summarizing basic research on beech in the context of climate change. As a climax tree species, beech is becoming dominant again in parts of its original range at the middle and higher altitudes of Central Europe, following spruce. It is a shade-loving species that can thrive in various types of mixed forest stands. To cultivate beech, close-to-nature methods, shelterwood, or selection management are optimal. The occurrence of the beech seed year is influenced by factors such as precipitation, temperature, drought, and air pollution. Although beech is generally considered resistant to abiotic and biotic factors, it often needs protection against hoofed game browsing in the earliest stages of development. As climate change progresses, it is essential to cultivate beech in areas rich in precipitation and nutrients where it can thrive even under more extreme conditions. In optimal conditions, beech has shown intensive regeneration in recent years, aggressively displacing other tree species. However, with insufficient precipitation and prolonged periods of drought, beech loses its vigor, production, and ability to compete. For adaptation to climate change, it is recommended to select appropriate beech provenance, promote natural regeneration, and cultivate structurally differentiated stands through positive-selection thinning from above.

Introduced tree species have become increasingly important in the context of the ongoing climate change. This paper focuses on the dendrochronology of the most widespread introduced tree species in the British Isles – Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis [Bong.] Carr.) – in comparable soil conditions in England, Czechia, and Slovakia. The research aims to evaluate the growth dynamics and the influence of climatic factors on this tree species while comparing it with economically main tree species in Europe – Norway spruce (Picea abies [L.] Karst.). Based on the analysis of 150 increment cores, the radial growth of Sitka spruce was on average 24.2% higher than that of Norway spruce. The highest increments in 52 to 62-year-old stands were achieved in England by both Sitka spruce (8.7 mm) and Norway spruce (7.0 mm). In terms of negative pointer years (NPYs), there was no difference in the number of years with a significantly low increment between the two species at any site. The lowest effect of climatic factors on growth was found in Czechia, while the highest was in England. Higher resistance to climate was found for Sitka compared to Norway spruce. In general, the main limiting factor for the growth was the lack of precipitation in the previous year’s vegetation season, or heavy frost in England. In Central Europe, due to low precipitation, Sitka spruce will not be a substantial introduced tree species in the future, but on suitable sites, it can achieve high production potential and play a significant role for increasing stand diversity in the face of climate change.

Black alder (Alnus glutinosa [L.] Gaertn.) is an important component of riparian and wetland ecosystems in Europe. However, data on the growth of this significant broadleaved tree species is very limited. Presently, black alder currently suffers from the pathogen Phytophthora and is particularly threatened by climate change. The objective of this study was to focus on the impact of climatic variables (precipitation, temperature, extreme climatic events) on the radial growth of alder across its geographic range during the period 1975–2015. The study of alder stands aged 46–108 years was conducted on 24 research plots in a wide altitude range (85–1015 m) in 12 countries of Europe and Asia. The most significant months affecting alder radial growth were February and March, where air temperatures are more significant than precipitation. Heavy frost and extreme weather fluctuations in the first quarter of the year were the main limiting factors for diameter increment. Within the geographical setting, latitude had a higher effect on radial growth compared to longitude. However, the most important variable concerning growth parameters was altitude. The temperature’s effect on the increment was negative in the lowlands and yet turned to positive with increasing altitude. Moreover, growth sensitivity to precipitation significantly decreased with the increasing age of alder stands. In conclusion, the growth variability of alder and the number of negative pointer years increased with time, which was caused by the ongoing climate change and also a possible drop in the groundwater level. Riparian alder stands well supplied with water are better adapted to climatic extremes compared to plateau and marshy sites.

Soil organic carbon (SOC) is a great component of the global carbon cycle and plays significant role in terms of climatic changes and agricultural land-use. An important management concern is the extent of SOC stocks sequestration when farmland is converted to forest stands. We have reviewed the literature about changes in SOC stock in relation to altitude and stand age and sought differences between former agricultural land and origin forest stands. Accumulation of SOC was monitored in 17 examples (41 samples) in 9 locations across the all Czech Republic with focus on the main tree species Norway spruce (Picea abies [L.] Karst.). Results showed a significant increase of SOC stock in an afforested farmland with increasing stand age. Another factor was the altitude. With increasing altitude, the carbon stock in our model gradually decreased. From the data analyzed comparing forest stand and former agricultural land, similar carbon sequestration was documented for both variants with higher SOC for forest stands. However, other conditions affecting SOC stock should be taken into consideration, especially silvicultural management, topography, disturbances, soil properties and cultivation. The general tendencies of SOC changes at the investigated sites are comparable to those in other studies across the Europe.

Afforestation of marginal agricultural lands is an important issue in the land use changes running in Europe at present. The aim of the presented study is the documentation of effects of site improving material Alginite three years after afforestation of agricultural land in the locality with unfavourable hydrophysical regime. The impact was evaluated on growth parameters (height increment, mortality and foliar nutrient content) of Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco), Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and a mixture of English oak (Quercus robur L.), red oak (Quercus rubra L.) and Norway maple (Acer platanoides L.) seedlings on former agricultural land in central Bohemia, Czech Republic. The research plot consists of 36 square sub-plots, each sub-plot is 400 m2 in size. Each sub-plot consists of 400 individuals, except Douglas-fir with 200 individuals. The following doses of Alginite were applied: control (variant A without Alginite), 0.5 kg of Alginite (B) and 1.5 kg of Alginite (C) on both conifers and broadleaves. The results showed that Alginite application had greater positive effect on height growth of seedlings than mortality, especially variant C. In most of the cases height increments were significantly positively affected (p < 0.05) by both variants of Alginite application only in the third year after planting. Alginite applications were also connected with differences in the foliar nutrient content, especially with higher magnesium and phosphorus values. The highest differences among Alginite variants were observed for Norway maple and English oak, while the lowest for red oak and Scots pine within all monitored parameters.

Th e European hare (Lepus europaeus) is one of the farmland specialists inhabiting agroecosystems. It is particularly sensitive to negative changes in agricultural management and landscape homogenization. Th e quality of the environment affects not only the hare population dynamics but also the behaviour of individuals, which is reflected in the variation in home range sizes. Preliminary results of the GPS telemetry monitoring in the Czech Republic revealed signifi cant differences in the home range size of hares in high-diversified farmland (18.62 ± 4.14 ha) and conventionally managed agroecosystems (129.96 ± 55.64 ha) during the spring. Th ese results demonstrate that the hare can thrive in a relatively small area, provided there are sufficient food sources and suitable shelter opportunities. However, increasing the biodiversity of the landscape can benefit not only the European hare but also other wildlife including protected birds and animals, which can respond to positive changes in the agroecosystem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]