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Abstract: Data were analysed on the volume of dead wood in 86 beech forest reserves, covering most of the range of European beech forests. The mean volume was 130m3/ha and the variation among reserves was high, ranging from almost nil to 550m3/ha. The volume depended significantly on forest type, age since reserve establishment and volume of living wood. More dead wood was found in montane (rather than lowland/submontane) reserves, longer-established reserves (time since designation) and reserves with higher volumes of living wood. On average, fallen dead wood contributed more to the total dead wood volume than standing dead wood. The percentage of dead wood that was standing was almost twice as high in montane than in lowland/submontane forest reserves (45% versus 25%). The volume of dead wood at selected sites changed considerably over time. The fluctuations were significantly higher in lowland/submontane than montane reserves, possibly connected with differences in the disturbance regimes and especially damage caused by windstorms. In NW Europe, the blow down of formerly managed, even-aged stands led to extraordinary high volumes of dead wood shortly after reserve establishment. The implications for forest management and biodiversity conservation are discussed. An increase in dead wood volumes must be carried out in accordance with the local/regional forest type and disturbance regime. Thus, in order to fulfil the requirements of as many wood-depending organisms as possible, it is important to preserve not only larger amounts of dead wood, but also dead wood of different types and dimensions as well as securing a long-term continuity of dead wood. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

[Display omitted] • Large-scale biodiversity indicators (MAES-HU) were validated using fine-scale ones. • MAES-HU captures the patterns of forest composition well, but the structure less. • Deficiencies arise from scale, data collection and indicator calculation. • Some phenomenons can be detected indirectly from large-scale forestry databases. • Conservation relevance of forest monitoring may be improved by minimal addition. As the multi-scale study of biodiversity is extremely resource-intensive, proxy indicators taken from various databases are often used to answer questions on a larger spatial scale. Considering differences in the scale and methods, the application of such indicators (especially from different monitoring systems) requires careful consideration and standard methods of validation. In order to demonstrate this, we validated the results of the MAES-HU (National Ecosystem Assessment of Hungary) forest condition assessment (based on the Hungarian NFD – National Forestry Database) with thematically richer, finer-scale field data. We also examined the relationships of some MAES-HU indicators with other variables significant for nature conservation, not currently included in the NFD. We found the MAES-HU scoring was similar to the fine-scale score results in the case of tree species composition indicators, however, less so for structural indicators. The MAES-HU assessment uses the values of the NFD, averaged for forest management units, and thus tends to underestimate structural variety. This highlights a potential loss of important conservation-related information. During the examination of relationships with other indicators that are not included in the large-scale MAES-HU assessment, we found that the presence of large-diameter and old trees correlates with tree-related microhabitats and large standing deadwood, but no relationship was found for other investigated indicators (game pressure, further deadwood indicators). This highlights the need for integrating some key conservation indicators (presence of old and large trees, quantity and quality of standing and lying deadwood) into existing forest monitoring systems in order to optimise the resources dedicated to multipurpose data collection. Our study also highlights that applying indicators as proxies requires the full knowledge of monitoring methods and validated indicator-indicanda relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Changes of the social-political system in the last twenty-five years heavily affected biodiversity conservation in the post-soviet Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries. We used a framework to present the effect of the two fundamental social, political and economic changes on the biodiversity and ecosystems of Hungary from 1989 until recently. First, following the democratic transformation in 1989 social, political, economic and institutional drivers led to the increase in farmland biodiversity, improvement of water quality due to less chemical use and decrease of habitat loss within protected areas. At the same time, land privatisation and uncertain ownership led to habitat degradation, abandonment and fragmentation. These changes were coupled with the spread of alien species and re-ploughing. The second change was joining the European Union in 2004. This resulted in the establishment of the Natura 2000 network, the application of the relevant EU policies, and access to conservation related EU funds, which contributed to successful habitat restorations increasing of some charismatic species' populations. Meanwhile, however, disappearance of extensive farming practices, agricultural intensification and infrastructural developments driven by some increasing EU funds led to a net habitat loss, degradation and decline in biodiversity, with more than half of the species of European importance having unfavourable conservation status. Increased support for conservation institutions, adaptive and extended agri-environment schemes and further research and monitoring to establish, refine and supervise sustainable management practices, including water management, are needed to prevent further biodiversity loss in the coming years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the main goals of the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 is to avoid further loss of biodiversity and to restore ecosystems. These efforts can be facilitated by compiling the main research topics related to conservation biology to provide new evidence for the most urgent knowledge gaps, and publicise it to researchers, research funders and policy makers. We used the possible future statements from the Hungarian Environmental Foresight Report for 2050 which identified region-specific problems. To highlight likely future environmental and conservation questions, in this study we asked researchers from the fields of ecology and conservation to define research questions addressing these future statements in line with international research trends and challenges. The study resulted in fourteen priority research topics, split into seven clusters relevant to biological conservation that should be targeted by stakeholders, primarily policy makers and funders to focus research capacity to these topics. The main overarching themes identified here include a wide range of approaches and solutions such as innovative technologies, involvement of local stakeholders and citizen scientists, legislation, and issues related to human health. These indicate that solutions to conservation challenges require a multidisciplinary approach in design and a multi-actor approach in implementation. Although the identified research priorities were listed for Hungary, they are in line with European and global biodiversity strategies, and can be tailored to suit other Central and Eastern European countries as well. We believe that our prioritisation can help science–policy discussion, and will eventually contribute to healthy and well-functioning ecosystems. • Research prioritisation targeting pre-defined future statements with a new approach. • Transboundary and transdisciplinary collaboration is needed to fill knowledge gaps. • Apply techniques from traditional knowledge to advanced technology. • Increase lobbying to allocate funds for novel research programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]