For the period from the 1st of May to the 30th of October 2014, the water balance for Scots pine, Norway spruce, Pedunculate oak and European beech seedlings in a plantation setting was analysed. The experiment was conducted at the container nursery in the Rudy Raciborskie Forest District, Poland. Water was supplied by natural rainfall as well as a by small-droplet irrigation system and two automatic weather stations combined with 32 rain collectors were used to monitor rainfall throughout this research. Rain gauges were located 25 cm above the metal pallets and 10 cm below the nursery containers. An average of 987 mm∙m−2 of water reached the plantation, of which 53% were provided by the irrigation system. Most water was supplied to the oak field, whereas least was given to the spruce plantations and the irrigation water amounted to 535 liters and 422 liters per square meter, respectively. The amount of water percolating through the substrate was approximately 50–65%, depending on the tree species. An average sum of evapotranspiration at the container nursery was estimated to amount to 520 mm∙m−2 during the growth season leading to a total water balance of +463 mm.

An increase in frequency of weather phenomena in the Western Beskids that are disadvantageous for natural environment caused an upset of ecologic balance, especially within the scope of water management and retention. Concerns referring to forest groups maintaining their stability are fully justified, regarding that in many areas of the Beskids, there is an intensive reconstruction of stands of trees in the lower subalpine region. In turn, young generations of trees are continuously stresses, which arise from periodic shortages of precipitation within the course of the whole vegetation process. The presented work encompasses characteristics of extreme rainfall events that might have a negative impact on growth and development of Norway spruce stands in the Silesian Beskid in recent decades. The article makes use of meteorological data from a multiannual period (1951–2010), gathered in 26 meteorological stations of the Polish Institute of Meteorology and Water Management (IMGW) in Silesian Beskid one station located in the Carpathian regional gene bank and two under canopy posts located in Wisła forestry inspectorate area. Special attention was devoted to the presence of extreme phenomena and their repeatability. The analysis of parameters of rainfall sequences was complemented with indexes determining ecological requirements of spruce, such as: Schmuck moisture indicator, Vogel-Daniels habitat dryness index and abundance of rainfall indicator developed in this study. Results of climatological analysis confirmed that weather phenomena with, especially dynamic course may lead to destabilisation of even a properly formed and adequately developed forest ecosystem, and as a consequence, disturb stability in the natural environment. Diminishment of the index of precipitation size, which has been observed in recent years, may be one of the most crucial causes that limit the number of spruces in the stands of trees of the lower subalpine region in Silesian Beskid. The climatological analysis confirmed that during 60 years in Silesian Beskid, there were over 20 extreme weather (precipitation) episodes of different courses, intensity and surface reach, out of which at least 9 played a key role in lowering the health condition of the trees, as a consequence, it influenced destabilisation of the spruce stands in the lower subalpine region, regardless of their age or location within the area.

This study explores the use of fully automatic monitoring system of peat moss substrate moisture under pine seedlings at Rudy Raciborskie forest nursery in the Silesian Upland. A brand new multipoint system for this study was created. The multichannel electronic recorder MPI-DN Metronic was the main part of the project. Twelve HD3910.2 probes (three electrodes) for volumetric water content measurement were used in a distributed configuration. Modbus RTU protocols were used for data transmission and the results were archived into an internal memory. One probe delivers 1440 measurements a day. Based on the average substrate moisture data from the field, the recorder controls the watering system according to the precisely defined parameters. Proper placement of sensors in the field allows for accurate analysis of the temporal and spatial variability of peat moss substrate moisture. Results of the statistical analysis have confirmed that the peat moss moisture is significantly differentiated within the homogeneous production field of the forest seedlings. The study findings suggest that irrigation systems should be adapted to specific situation of substrate moisture at the nursery surfaces aimed at optimised water management.

Cultivation of seedlings in trays requires the use of specifically developed substrates. This study presents the results of the analyses of selected physical and mechanical parameters of a peat–perlite substrate, in which seedlings of the Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.), Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst), European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.), and pedunculate oak (Quercus robur L.) were grown during a production season. For each species, the substrate parameters changed throughout the production season, substrate dry weight decreased, whereas its compactness increased with time. Independent of the species, the bulk density and total porosity of the substrate changed or deviated from the optimum range, although the values of porosity were close to maximum and those of density were close to the minimum. In certain periods in the V265 trays with beech and oak seedlings, the substrate was characterized by very low water capacity and excessive air capacity. Compactness measured with a cone penetrometer showed, that this parameter might be used for monitoring the substrate properties.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the sensitivity of silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) from the Rudnik Forest District on the selected meteorological elements and to develop a chronology of local tree-ring width and the annual sensitivity. Based on the analysis, the site chronology of silver fir was developed and the strength of the relationship between the climate components and the width of annual rings was calculated. In addition, we examined the degree of homogeneity of short-term incremental response, rated the representativeness of the chronology and climate signal strength. Having analysed the indicator years, namely 1932–2013, we concluded that the growth of firs was positively influenced mainly by air temperature in winter, and to a lesser extent, by precipitation in spring and summer. The main factors that limit its growth are cold winters, cool and low rainfall summers, and rainy springs.