Old Flora of the Chornohora Range

Page Type: Album

Image Type(s): Flora, Informational, Scenery

Page By: Romuald Kosina

Created/Edited: May 22, 2008 / May 26, 2008

Object ID: 405719

Hits: 904

Page Score: 78.27% - 9 Votes

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The highest range of the Ukrainian Carpathians

When hiking from the Polish Bieszczady (the SE corner of Poland) toward the SE direction we go over the Ukrainian Bieszczady, next Gorgany Mts. and finally we meet the Chornohora Range (in Polish: Czarnohora). This range has been ruled by Poland before the 2nd World War. Now it belongs to Ukraine. Czarnohora is extended between basins of the Prut and Cisa Rivers. One can see within this range some postglacial relics in form of cirques and lakes. The highest mountains of this region there are:
Howerla Mt. - 2061 m a.s.l.
Brebenieskul Mt. - 2037 m a.s.l.
Pop Ivan Mt. - 2022 m a.s.l.
Pietros Massif - 2022 m a.s.l.
Gutin Tomnatyk Mt. 2018 m a.s.l.
and Rebra Mt. - 2001 m a.s.l.
Vegetation of this area is composed of beech forest (up to 1300 m a.s.l.), higher parts are overgrown by spruce forest (approx. to 1500 m a.s.l.). At the subalpine level there are Pinus montana, Alnus viridis and junipers. The alpine level is occupied by grassy vegetation.
This album includes old pictures of plants and vegetation taken by Tadeusz Wilczynski before the 2nd World War. All the pictures were prepared in sepia.
This album will be continued........

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lcarreau

Nice work, Romek!

Voted 10/10

How is the health of the Polish forests today?
What about forest ecology, as far as wildfires and
natural events such as beetle infestation. Is that
very much of a problem in Poland? Take care! -LARRY

Posted May 22, 2008 8:35 pm


	Romuald Kosina	Re: Nice work, Romek!
	Hasn't voted	Hi, Larry!!! I appreciate very much all the achievements of our predecessors! Such picture are at present of historical and museum value. Thanks for your vote!!! :-) Romek
		Posted May 23, 2008 5:34 am


	Romuald Kosina	Re: Nice work, Romek!
	Hasn't voted	Larry, I will write later more on forests in Poland :-) R.
		Posted May 23, 2008 5:44 am


	Romuald Kosina	Re: Nice work, Romek!
	Hasn't voted	Hi, Larry! Forests in Poland were seriously destroyed in 70-ties of the past century, especially in the SW part of the country, just in mountains close to me - Karkonosze and Izerskie Mts. Then the broad panoramas have been created in Izerskie Mts. - it is of course nice for tourists hiking there. During the last years these forests were rebuild and new varieties of spruce, mountain pine, birch, beech and Sorbus were introduced. In some sites I observed the weak status of fir, e.g. in Swietokrzyskie Mts. (Central Poland) and Pieniny Mts. (S Poland). Many of our forests are simple if we look at their species composition, that means mainly spruce and common pine. However, some our primeval stands are very valuable, e.g. Bialowieza Forest, the last Central European natural lowland forest. Some our forest are close to natural status with many animals and valuable flora, e.g. in Bieszczady Mts. (SW Poland), Gorce Mts. located northward of Tatras, Snieznik Massif (the most eastern part of Sudetes Mts.) and a wilderness area of NE Poland (Puszcza Augustowska). It is very short answer :-))) Cheers!!! Romek
		Posted May 23, 2008 1:18 pm

lcarreau

Romek...

Voted 10/10

I know you are busy with your work and family, and I really
appreciate your time answering my question. What do you mean
by "rebuilding" the forest? Did foresters plant more trees in
the ground? Why were the forests seriously destroyed? Was it
from the hands of man, or perhaps a natural disaster? Are
your forests part of a larger ecosystem that extends into
Germany? Where is the so-called "Black Forest" located?
- Thank you, and much regards to your historic photos!!
- Larry of AZ

Posted May 23, 2008 2:29 pm

Romuald Kosina

"Black Forest"...???

Hasn't voted

Larry, I am not sure what does it mean "Black Forest". Maybe such a name relates just to forests in Izerskie Mts. and Karkonosze. In this area located in the SW part of Poland there was a disaster of anthropogenic origin and coming from the "Black Triangle", a joining point of Polish, Czech and German borders. Mines and
power-stations of brown coal are located there and winds provided a lot of acid rains to these mountains, overgrown mainly by pure stands of spruce introduced by Germans before the 1st World War. Trees weaken by these rains were attacked by insects. Some of my pictures in the album "My small mountains - Izerskie Mts." show such forests. I think that this industry area still working, but now with some equipment for better protection of nature around, is a real hindrance for continuity of ecosystems. Foresters introduced into these damaged forests new species and new botanical varieties of trees. For instance, Pinus montana of dwarf habit is planted on the summits in Izerskie Mts. where trees having normal growth (larch, beech, Sorbus) are damaged by thick layer of snow and ice. New varieties of trees, e.g. spruces, provide better gene flow and increase a level of heterozygosity of population, then also its health. I saw such new mixed populations of spruce in the Czech Izery. At present a vegetation of Izerskie Mts. is new and nice.
However, two years ago we have had in Izerskie Mts. a special weather during March and April. Huge masses of snow and ice were stored on spruces and a lot of trees were broken, in some places even 100% of a given local population. Also the last very strong winds in 2007 destroyed again these forests. Then you see that several factors, natural and anthropogenic, influence this area.
The best to you!!!
Romek

Posted May 25, 2008 11:16 am

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