Geographia Polonica (2024) vol. 97, iss. 1

The potential of Polish forests to provide ecosystem services

Andrzej Affek, Jerzy Solon, Anna Kowalska, Edyta Regulska, Jacek Wolski, Ewa Kołaczkowska

Geographia Polonica (2024) vol. 97, iss. 1, pp. 65-90 | Full text
doi: https://doi.org/10.7163/GPol.0269

Abstract

Polish forests differ in their potential to provide ecosystem services (ES), but it is unclear how and to what extent. We assessed the potential of 35 forest habitat types to provide 17 key ES and showed that the montane mesic broadleaved forest has a high potential to provide the largest number of key forest services (14 out of 17), which gives it the status of a multi-service hotspot. The highest overall potential was found in the forests of mountain regions, slightly lower in the postglacial northern regions, and the lowest in the central lowland regions.

Keywords: Ecosystem service potential, ecosystem service hotspots, ecosystem service bundles, sustainable forest management, forest habitat types, forest regions, State Forests, nationwide scale, Poland

Andrzej Affek [a.affek@twarda.pan.pl], Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization Polish Academy of Sciences, Twarda 51/55, 00‑818 Warszawa, Poland
Jerzy Solon [j.solon@twarda.pan.pl], Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization Polish Academy of Sciences, Twarda 51/55, 00‑818 Warszawa, Poland
Anna Kowalska [aniak@twarda.pan.pl], Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization Polish Academy of Sciences, Twarda 51/55, 00‑818 Warszawa, Poland
Edyta Regulska [eregulska@twarda.pan.pl], Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization Polish Academy of Sciences, Twarda 51/55, 00‑818 Warszawa, Poland
Jacek Wolski [j.wolski@twarda.pan.pl], Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization Polish Academy of Sciences, Twarda 51/55, 00‑818 Warszawa, Poland
Ewa Kołaczkowska [ekolaczk@twarda.pan.pl], Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization Polish Academy of Sciences, Twarda 51/55, 00‑818 Warszawa, Poland