Long-term ecological research on forest ecosystems in the Tatra National Park

The concept of long-term ecological research in the Tatra National Park (TANAP) has its roots in the late Fiftieth. In remnants of natural forest were established plots of 0.5 ha area. Besides detailed forest inventory data were collected on ground vegetation, soil, geology, climate and biotic and abiotic factors determining forest status. Fast forest disintegration, especially those natural, in the Eightieth required systematic research and monitoring of forest health. Regular network of 2x2 km was derived from National ICP Forest network. As a consequence of long-term pollution pressure on mountain forest and warm and dry summers in the early Ninetieth insect outbreaks caused large-scale dieback especially in nature reserves. Management of National Park accepted strategy to act. Philosophy of managing forest ecosystems is to reduce future potential environmental risks. New management strategy stressing forest sustainability, biodiversity protection, and stability improvement requires new role of research and monitoring. Quickly and easily gathered and analyzed data should serve also as a planning and control tool to verify mostly ecological and environmental functioning of the Tatra's forest. Our paper describes methods of collecting and interpretation of results on the example of larch - spruce forest community gained from both long term and current research plots.