Areas designated for afforestation and areas excluded from afforestation – selected aspects related to the protection of the landscape in view of Poland experience

Abstract

In connection with the implementation of the National Programme for Forest Cover Growth in Poland, environmental preconditions, national, EU and international legal requirements as well as necessity of the implementation of green economy in the framework of adaptation to climate change and regarding implementation of sustainable development, increase of total forest cover is very beneficial. However, decisions on afforestation should be thought out. The aim was to draw attention to the more important arguments and principles, supported by scientific and practical facts, in which cases: afforestation is much needed, afforestation is forbidden/not indicated and which terrains should be excluded from deforestation. In particular the aspects related to protection of the landscape have been highlighted. The landscape is understood as a synthesis of the natural, cultural and visual environment. Due to the fact that the first two groups of arguments and principles are generally well known, more focused on the areas and cases where afforestation is not allowed or not advisable. Sites should be excluded from afforestation in particular as a result of circumstances such as: 1) the necessity of coexistence, next to forests, other valuable elements of landscape ecological structure, including water and semi-natural ecosystems (e.g. in Nature 2000 areas), 2) occurrence of valuable terrestrial non-forest ecosystems, 3) protection of proper exposure of landscape dominants (cultural, natural or mixed), creation of exposure of valuable views, panoramas, creating view axes, 4) valuable forms of terrain relief and, in case where are landscape dominants, as well terrains around them. The set of rules where afforestation and exclusion from afforestation is needed, has been presented being, at the same time, the set of indications for shaping the environment, the landscape and the land-use planning in terms of the formation of the spatial structure of forest areas in Poland.

Reasons for the Occurence of Small Forest Patches Within Post-Glacial Areas Used for Agriculture in Northern Poland

“…Paradoxically, a continuous increase in tree stands has been observed in Europe since the 1960s (European Environment Agency, 2017). An increase in the forest area is also observed in post-glacial areas in Poland (Zając et al, 2014;Pieńkowski, 2015) increase rate depends on the region (Żarska et al, 2016;Ciesielska and Ciesielski, 2017). However, global increase in forested area is mainly connected with expansion and consolidation of larger patches in the areas of soils of poor quality and does not apply to intensively cultivated areas, where the number of small and isolated forest patches is decreasing (Brown and Fisher, 2009).…”