Forests of Southeast Europe Under a Changing Climate

According to the data obtained after the Second National Forest Inventory in Bosnia and Herzegovina (2006–2009) was carried out, the total area of forests and forest land in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) is 3,231,500 ha or 63.08%, whilst the area covered by forest takes up 2,904,600 ha, or 56.7% of the total Bosnia and Herzegovina land area The land area of BiH is divided into four ecological vegetation areas (Pripanon, Inner Dinarides, Transitional Illyrian-Moesiac area and Mediterranean area). The spatial distribution of the main vegetation types is influenced by horizontal zonation and altitudinal belts. These areas are then followed by the mountainous belt with beech forests, beech and fir, beech and fir with spruce and the subalpine beech forest belt. There is a great number of endemic species and habitats and relic locations – a terrestrial flora and fauna shelter, which are now preserved under specific paleo-climate conditions. BiH is one of the countries in Europe with the highest diversity of both, plants and animals species, which are endangered by climate change. The abundance of diversity is reflected in a large number of plant and animal species within the region (about 4500 higher plants, 600 taxa mosses and about 80 ferns, around 250 species of forest trees and shrubs). This is why the position of BiH is high in the list of European countries of a high biodiversity level. The variability has been investigated by molecular markers for the most important species. The variability is high and it is important for meeting climate changes. Afforestation trends in BiH indicate that the afforestation volume decreased. Establishihng of new forests are not at the satisfactory level due to the lack of financial resources and insufficient attention to the aforested areas.

Wild fruit woody species without any doubt present an essential element of biodiversity of Montenegrin forests. The aim of this paper was to examine the geographical distribution of these species as a basic precondition for their monitoring and protection. According to the National Forest Inventory in Montenegro, there are seven wild fruit tree species present: chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.), Turkish hazelnut (Corylus colurna L.), walnut (Juglans regia L.), wild apple (Malus sylvestris Mill.), wild cherry (Prunus avium L.) and wild pears (Pyrus communys L. and Pyrus amigdaliformis Vill.). Seven analyzed species are spread over an area of 9498 ha which takes up 0,69% of the territory of Montenegro. Most common wild fruit tree species in Montenegro are wild pear, wild cherry and wild apple. The highest values of average timber dimensions show wild cherry, chestnut and Turkish hazelnut. Further analysis of the distribution according to the altitude shows which species are located mainly on terrains of lower altitude and which species spread mainly at altitudes above 800 m and how altitude influenced the diversity of these species. Distribution and main characteristics of Montenegrin wild fruit tree species shows potential for establishment of collecting site areas as first step of in situ conservation.

The chapter gives an overview of the development of forestry in Slovenia in the light of managing and conserving forest genetic resources. Special attention is given to the description of the legislative framework, the international collaboration, the extent and functioning of the Slovenian forest gene bank, forest genetic monitoring as the necessary precondition of managing and conserving forest genetic resources in the changing climates, and the Slovenian forest genetic resources programme.

Conservation of forest biological diversity, which includes forest genetic resources, is essential for sustaining the productive value of forests, and for maintaining the health and vitality of forest ecosystems and thereby maintaining their protective, environmental and cultural roles. The purpose of conserving of forest genetic resources is to maintain hereditary variation in species and local populations far into the future so that their viability and adaptability would be sufficient to cope with changing environmental conditions. Since forest genetic resources are essential part of the adaptation processes of populations and tree species in a changing environment, their conservation and appropriate management have a crucial importance for sustainable forest management. Thus, forests need to be managed in a way that ensures their sustainable utilization, safeguarding the ecological process and genetic diversity essential for the maintenance of the resource base. In this paper a general introduction is given to the state of forest genetic resources conservation in FYR Macedonia with comprehensive overview of policies with respect to their conservation and management. Based on the current situation of conservation of forest genetic resources, some strategic suggestions concerning the future development of genetic conservation is given, taking into consideration the conservation objectives and future trends of great impact on existing forest genetic resources. National policies and regulatory frameworks that target forest genetic resources in Macedonia are partial and inadequate. Most relevant policies neglect the importance of forest genetic resources, but rather use it in the context of biological diversity. Sound social and economic policies are needed at national level to ensure the integration of forest genetic resources into wider national forest policy frameworks and thereby promote the sustainable management of forest genetic resources.

In Romania, the forest genetic resources are included in two National Catalogues. The first one is The National Catalogue of Forest Genetic Resources which includes 698 core units with the main objective of conservation, and having a total area of 19889.6 ha. The second one is The National Catalogue of Forest Reproductive Material, including all base units designated to produce forest reproductive material, 2930 units for 45 forest tree species being listed, with a total area of 40209.3 ha. More than 300 source units of the basic material category are also entirely and partly included in the FGR conservation category, due to the importance of using these resources as base reproductive material. There are GIS databases for both catalogues.

The different levels of biodiversity (genetic diversity, species diversity, ecosystem diversity) present in Greece are introduced, quantified, where possible, and analysed in comparison to the rest of the European continent and internationally. Greece ranks third and fourth regarding key biodiversity areas in Europe and Mediterranean Basin respectively and first in the number of species per unit area. The genetic diversity and differentiation in natural ecosystems and especially in forest tree species is very high. For a number of species (e.g. in chestnut) a significant portion of their total European genetic diversity is present in Greece and some metrics of genetic diversity parameters present high values when compared to European and world-wide average values. Nevertheless, the conservation of biodiversity has insofar focused at the ecosystem level. About one-third of the country land mass is under some form of biodiversity protection (27% included in the Natura 2000 network), however the forest genetic resources protection lags behind as officially only 5 species and 15 populations are part of the European Forest Genetic Resources Network. Overall, the richness for biodiversity in Greece is almost irreversibly proportional to the stage of its protection, especially at the genetic resource level.

The aim of this chapter is an overall review and analysis of the most important national regulative frameworks related to conservation and sustainable utilization of forest genetic resources in Serbia. A number of legally-binding and non-binding documents (strategies, laws and programs), which have an effect on the conservation and sustainable utilization of forest genetic resources, were adopted after the 2000s in Serbia. This issue is mainly the subject of strategies, laws and programs from the fields of forestry, sustainable development, environmental and nature protection. It could be stated that there is no adopted legally-binding legislation which directly relates to the FGR conservation in Serbia.

In this chapter is analysed the institutional framework for conservation of forest genetic resources (FGR) in Serbia, i.e. institutions and organizations responsible for this issue at the republic level. The results show that a number of institutions and organizations are involved in conservation work. The top institutions of public administration are the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management (through the work of the Directorate for Forests) and the Ministry of Environmental Protection (through the work of the Sector for Nature Protection and Climate Change). The public service for nature conservation is responsible for the support and control in the performance of professional activities. The public enterprise for state forests management and public enterprises for management of national parks, as well as other organizations, including non-governmental organizations, are responsible for the implementation of professional activities on FGR conservation. The work of educational and research institutions in relation to the conservation of FGR is done through different projects and programs, at the national and regional level. In most cases, the competencies of institutions and organizations do not relate exclusively to the FGR conservation but also include other activities. Conservation of FGR is a primary objective within the competence of public administration in forestry and nature conservation (competent ministries); public service in nature conservation; public enterprises in forestry and nature conservation; educational and research organizations. Bearing in mind a wide range of the institutional framework, it is necessary to build and implement a policy of cross-sectoral dialogue for successful implementation of FGR conservation activities. Although the conducted analysis did not show any no overlapping of the competencies of institutions and organizations, continuous cooperation and information exchange is necessary.

Bosnia and Herzegovina is a consignee of numerous acts relating to protection and sustainable use of biodiversity. The international adopted legislative has been followed by the state laws and rulebooks. The protection of nature is regulated at an entity level in Bosnia and Herzegovina (the Republic of Srpska, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Brcko District as separate districts). Many of laws and documents have been adopted in National assemblies. The main problem is enforcing of adopted documents due to lack of financing. The future guidelines are presented in order to improve the state of forest genetic resources.

Romania has started to identify and characterize its forest genetic resources shortly after the adoption of Strasbourg S2 and Helsinki H2 Resolutions of the Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe. At the same time, the country has experienced major changes (transition from a centralized to a market economy, property restitution process, and privatization) which have strongly affected the forest sector. In 2011, the National Catalogue of Forest Genetic Resources was finalized by the National Institute for Research and Development in Forestry “Marin Drăcea” (former ICAS). One year later, the catalogue and the corresponding set of management measures were endorsed by the central authority for forestry under the Ministry of Environment and Forests. According to the ministerial order, forest owners and managers have to comply with the requirements in order to manage genetic conservation units included in the catalogue. The management measures allow low-intensity silvicultural interventions and promote natural regeneration. There is a need to evaluate the existing conservation units and to assess the quality of the management measures taken so far.

The Mediterranean Basin is among the top biodiversity hotspots globally due to the high endemism and the vast number of flora and fauna species harbored in its ecosystems. Hellenic ecosystems, being also Mediterranean ecosystems, are biodiversity hotspots that harbor 22% of the species found across the Mediterranean basin, while 10% of the plants occurring in them are endemic. The value of conserving biodiversity in natural ecosystems was recognized at the national level as early as 1937 and ever since a great part of the Hellenic ecosystems is conserved in situ under national and European legislation, as well under International Conventions. A solid, but also large and complicated legal framework is in effect in the country for the protection of the biodiversity and the genetic resources. The legal framework includes Laws that have incorporated Regional (EU) and International legislation into the national legal framework, as well as the national legislation on the conservation of nature, biodiversity and genetic resources. In the current chapter the above legal framework, under which a notable part of the surface of the country is currently protected, will be presented in short.

The chapter presents information about the legal instruments and institutions concerning the conservation of genetic resources of forest tree species in Bulgaria. Due to the specific circumstances, the vast majority of the Bulgarian forests are state-owned. Therefore, the main regulation documents concerning management of state forests are relevant in the context of tree genetic resources sustainable use and conservation ecosystems . A brief survey of the most important regulation documents determining the legislation framework for conservation of genetic resources of forest trees is presented.

The in situ (on-site) conservation implies the continuous maintenance of populations in the environment where they have naturally developed. The positive effect of the in situ conservation implies the preservation of the ecosystem as a whole and not only the individual species or genes that are the subject of the protection. The preservation of other plant and animal species inhabiting the preserved area can also be achieved by establishing the in situ conservation. Establishing in situ conservation in an area does not imply strict nature protection systems. The law permits the implementation of activities that will ensure durability and sustainability of genetic resources. The in situ is a desirable form of the conservation of the forest genetic resources because it allows the evolutionary processes to take place in the involved populations. The selection and registration of seed stands is the most commonly used form of the in situ conservation of the forest genetic resources in Serbia. This form of the conservation of the forest genetic resources is the most common and the only sustainable, because the funds allocated for conservation are modest. According to the data from the current Register of Seed Facilities of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management of the Republic of Serbia – Forest Administration, 126 seed stands have been selected in Serbia on the total area of 1.842,89 ha, with 44 seed stands of coniferous, 81 stands of herbaceous species and 1 mixed seed stand. A total of 198 seed facilities for the production of the selected reproductive material and 312 seed facilities for the production of the reproductive material of known origin have been registered. The existing number of the seed facilities and the areas they cover are insufficient and do not reflect the richness of the gene pool of our country’s forest tree species to which a special attention should be given in the following period. Protected natural resources represent a significant form of the in situ conservation of forest genetic resources, because they contain large areas of forest complexes. The protected natural areas currently cover 575.310 ha, or 6.51% of the territory of Serbia. There are 461 protected natural areas (November 2015) which include: 5 national parks, 17 nature parks, 20 landscapes of extraordinary characteristics, 68 nature reserves, 3 protected habitats, 310 nature monuments, 38 areas of cultural and historical importance.

European white elm (Ulmus laevis Pall.) and black poplar (Populus nigra L.) are species which occur in riparian forests and present the most significant types of forest trees in the alluvial habitats. Both species are characterized by their broad range and some type of vulnerability. Primarily due to the changes in their natural habitats caused disappearance of this species across Europe, also as Dutch elm disease at European white elm and hybridization of black poplar with poplar clones. Conservation is recognized as necessary and there is more activity in Europe in the aim. We give the review of activity on the conservation both species in Serbia, and especially present population of European white elm and black poplar at Veliko ratno ostrvo Island as very good candidates for in situ conservation.

The total area under protection on the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina is around 2% with tendency to increase. The conservation of forest ecosystems “in situ” in Bosnia and Herzegovina is comprises: natural reserves, national parks, groups of trees or individual trees and seed stands. There are 2 Strict Nature Reserves, 4 National Parks, 16 Natural Monuments, 5 Protected Landscape and 2 protected areas with sustainable use of natural resources. The total area of delineated forest seed sources is 2154.93 ha 212 which consist of 121 coniferous and 88 deciduous species. The management in all in-situ areas is prescribed by law and rulebooks.

In Romania, the forest genetic resources are included in two National Catalogues approved by ministerial orders. First is The National Catalogue of Forest Genetic Resources which includes 698 cores with main role of conservation, 577 of them being preserved in situ. Thus, the total area of in situ conservation is 10559.3 ha, being constituted especially for the main species from Romanian forests: European beech, Norway spruce, Silver fir and Oaks. At the same time, a large number of the conservation cores were established for some species with a low participation in the forest area (e.g. European larch, Scots pine) but located in natural populations where the environmental conditions are limited Most of the in situ conservation cores are also included in The National Catalogue of Forest Reproductive Materials. A total of 138 cores, accounting for 24% of the total number of the in situ conservation stands, with an area of 2140.7 ha, are the forest genetic resources located in different types of protected areas (national and natural parks, scientific and natural reservations, biosphere reservation, forest park or secular forests).

The importance of the Hellenic ecosystems from a biodiversity point of view at all levels is presented. The value of the existing biodiversity and its significance has been recognized quite early and the first protected areas were designated at a national level in 1937. The protected areas designated ever since under national and regional (EU) legislation, as well as under international Conventions and their protection status is presented in detail. Most of the protected areas though, that cover almost one third of the country, have been designated mainly for nature conservation (ecosystem, species level) and not for conserving the species genetic resources, even if within the general protection framework they were also indirectly conserved. Focused activities aiming towards the dynamic conservation of forest tree species (maintenance of forest tree genetic diversity to ensure the evolutionary continued processes and not just the preservation of existing frequencies of genotypes and alleles) were initiated after the participation of the country in the EUFORGEN program and the EUFGIS project. Dynamic gene conservation units (GCUs) have been designated so far for a number of species, but the process of designation needs to be intensified, given the role of the country as a biodiversity hotspot and an area of high endemism.

The chapter presents information about in situ conservation of forest genetic resources in Bulgaria. The activities have resulted in establishment of many in situ units for gene conservation. A survey of all such object is done for 9 coniferous and 39 broad-leaved species. The units are classified into three categories: reserves, maintained reserves, and natural permanent seed production stands. The total number of the units is 6032 coniferous stands and 15,772 stands of broadleaved species. All they contribute to gene resources conservation and their sustainable use in forest trees in Bulgaria.

Ex situ conservation of forest genetic resources (FGR) in Serbia is predominantly based on its preservation through the establishment of field trials, such as seed orchards, provenance trials and clonal archives. In the present chapter we made an overview of ex situ objects founded in Serbia so far, as well as research results gained within them. All the objects have been established by individual selection of plant material from phenotypically superior genotypes which characterized by high stem quality, and above-average height and diameter increments. Nevertheless, present situation on FGR conservation in Serbia is unsatisfactory due to neither sufficient number of objects nor tree species covered. Thus, future activities on ex situ conservation should be directed towards the establishment of new field objects of the most important tree species for Serbian forestry, as well as species that are projected to be the most endangered by climatic change. Likewise, taking into account climate change projections for the region of South-East Europe, a modified approach in tree breeding is required to meet new demands in a rapidly changing environment.

Fast growing tree species play significant role in timber production in Serbia with emphasis on poplars and willows as most dominant species. Use of poplar and willow for establishment of highly productive plantations requires reproductive material which originates from long term breeding and selection processes which are conducted both in Serbia and worldwide. Besides coping with traditional issues such are productivity and resistance to pest and diseases, current circumstances (climate change, degraded lands etc.) pose new challenges in breeding of poplars and willows. This article presents review of both traditional and contemporary breeding and selection processes conducted in Serbia with aim of production new cultivars/clones suitable to obtain various desired properties.

Ex situ conservation is the preservation of components of biological diversity outside their natural habitats. Such ex situ work is an increasingly important component of conservation and restoration efforts. Its primary objective is to support conservation by ensuring the survival of threatened species and the maintenance of associated genetic diversity. To do so, ex situ institutions preserve the genetic or reproductive material of target species, or take care of the living target species for the purpose of reintroduction. Ex situ conservation measures should support in situ conservation measures. Organized ex situ conservation activities in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) started in the middle of the last century. Activities were stopped during the 1990s because of the civil war, and then after 2000, the ex situ conservation of species continued. Ex situ cultures in BiH are established within arboreta, live archives, provenance tests, progeny tests, seed orchards and clone tests.

Genetic diversity of Croatian forest tree species is being conserved using the ex situ static method. Clonal seed orchards are the nucleus of forest genetic resource conservation, since the relationship between the size of the population and the percentage of preserved heterozygocity is thus reduced to minimal loss of total additive genetic variability. In accordance with the division of forests in Croatia into ecogeographic seed regions and zones, the following productive clonal seed orchards have been established: three orchards of pedunculate oak (Quercus robur L.), two of narrow-leaved ash (Fraxinus angustifoliaVahl), one of sessile oak (Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl,), one of wild cherry (Prunus avium L.), and one of black pine (Pinus nigra J. F. Arnold). Phenotypical selection and heterovegetative propagation of plus trees, as well as the establishment of clonal seed orchards were initiated with the goal of controlling more regular yield periodicity and obtaining forest seed of good genetic quality in the categories of Qualified and Tested. The orchards are regularly subjected to pomotechnical treatments, protection and other agrotechnical measures. The evaluation of genetic values of mother trees in progeny tests and genotypic selection was also initiated for the purpose of obtaining increased genetic gain. Climate changes and new site conditions will pose additional challenges to seed production and forest management; in turn, this will influence their economic and social benefits, as well as biological diversity of forest ecosystems.

Larger number of wild cherry candidate plus trees in the entire area of Slovenia were identified and recorded. Detailed seven-scale evaluation of their vitality, stem straightness, crown size, constriction, cylindrical trunk growth, trunk warping, branch diameter, branching angle and forking resulted in the selection of 107 trees possessing the most desirable characteristics. Selected trees are relatively large and of phenotypically superior quality. The established register of wild cherry plus trees in Slovenia represents a selection of superior individual phenotypes that will be used as a source of parental trees to establish a first-generation seed orchard and then, if appropriate, as a source of superior material for the next breeding steps and further breeding programs.

The present work summarized establishment and replanting of the beech provenance trial in Slovenia as a part of the international beech provenance trials launched by Institute of Forest Genetics and Forest Tree breeding from Grosshansdorf, Germany in 1996/1998. About the experiment area basic climatic and soil data are presented and for each provenance the name, seed lot number, geographical coordinates and altitude is provided. In the frame of the COST Action E52 the European beech genetic resources in wide scale were analyzed and databases harmonized. The main publications for the Slovenian trial are listed.

Forest tree breeding program started in Romania more than 55 years ago and the main objectives of the program consisted in improving wood production, wood quality, resistance to biotic and abiotic stress factors, development of biotechnological techniques for mass clonal propagation. During this period, more than 6400 plus-trees were selected within natural, and in some cases, artificial populations. By their multiplication, a total of around 643.4 ha of clonal, hybridization and seedling seed orchards (440.3 ha conifers and 203.1 ha of broadleaves) were established. Also, a number of 71 provenance trials (46 for conifers and 25 for broadleaves), 8 half-sib progenies trials (6 for conifers and 2 for broadleaves), 7 full-sib progeny trials for conifers, 18 interspecific hybrids trials (8 for conifers and 10 for broadleaves) and 3 genitor clone’s collections for conifers were established. A total of 113 ex situ conservation core units, amounting to 964.2 hectares, were established in stands with non-native species and in plantations with native species located outside their natural range.

Hellenic ecosystems are biodiversity hotspots, as they harbor 22% of the species found across the Mediterranean basin, while 10% of the plants occurring in them are endemic. Forest tree species are keystone species of the forest ecosystems that harbor a great part of the above mentioned biodiversity and for this reason the conservation of their genetic resources should be an ultimate goal. In situ conservation of forest genetic resources is applied intensively at the global, regional and national level, ex situ conservation though can be proved of unique value in the case of rare, endemic, threatened species or populations of widely distributed species that could be eliminated due to stochastic events, biotic or abiotic stresses. Ex situ can be either static or dynamic. The static ex situ conservation plantations (i.e. seed orchards, provenance and provenance-progeny tests) established in Greece will be presented, as well as the potential for long-term seed storage. The reported plantations were established in the framework of breeding programs carried out by two organizations; namely the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Laboratory of Forest Genetics and Tree Improvement) and the Institute of Mediterranean and Forest Ecosystems (IMFE – Laboratory of Silviculture, Forest Genetics and Biotechnology).

Silver Fir (Abies alba) is important forest tree species across Europe and in Bulgaria, in particular. Ex situ gene conservation of the species has long-term history in Bulgaria dating back to 1970s, when many provenance and progeny trials have been established. Besides these experiments and ex situ collections, clonal seed orchard was established in 1980s, and 20 years later it served as a source of tested clones for establishment of a second-generation seed orchard – one of the first second-generation orchards for the species in Europe. Of more than 400 clones included in the first generation orchard, 25 were selected for the second-generation orchard, based on a number of criteria. The approach for conservation of genepool of the species could be used as a pilot guide for ex situ conservation of other conifers in Bulgaria.

Serbia’s current adaptive capacity to climate change is fairly modest. However, with the beginning of the process of Serbia’s accession to the European Union, the capacities for strategic consideration of climate change issues began to strengthen. Activities are focused primarily on the processes necessary to reduce the causes of climate change (mitigation), and the consideration of adaptation is still neglected. Forest ecosystems play an important role in the global carbon cycle since they have a large potential for carbon sequestration within forest biomass and forest soils. However, conservation of forest genetic resources has not been recognized as a separate significant mechanism for adaptation to climate change within the national policy framework. Conservationists will face numerous challenges in their attempts to adapt conservation activities to climate change trends. According to the estimated speed of climate change, spontaneous natural selection will play a less important role than phenotypic plasticity. Plasticity will be the most desirable feature in the conservation of natural populations and artificial regeneration. An interesting example of the “carryover effect” from the territory of Serbia is the hypothesis of the phenotype groups formation of Serbian spruce and the high degree of intraspecific variability of this relict and endemic species. National conservation priorities, based on elaborated challenges and adaptive mechanisms of trees, are defined and elaborated through concrete measures and activities.

European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) is a common forest tree species in Europe, distributed across environmentally and climatically diverse regions, resulting in wide natural diversity. Considering its wide distribution and the fact that it is drought-susceptible species, beech received a lot of attention recently, in the light of global warming. Consequently, the provenance trial will provide valuable information about genetic variation patterns of the species, the level of local adaptation to changes in environmental conditions as well as information about the amount of adaptive traits plasticity of the studied species within two research periods. The plastic response of provenance morphological traits depends on differences in climatic conditions of the test site and seed origin, showing changes only if the shift happens towards warmer/drier climate, where higher plasticity were showed in older plants within drier conditions. The presented result also show the existence of considerable genetic variation among European beech provenances, even between provenances that originated from the same geographical region, where genetic differentiation among studied provenances showed an ecotypic pattern. The results show that phenotypic differentiation among populations is not always obvious. The existence of significant genetic variation within and among studied provenances could be crucial to beech adaptations processes in terms of changing climate conditions.

Serbian spruce is an old, relict and currently rare and endangered spruce species particularly susceptible to climate change that attracts a lot of attention in the academic community since its discovery in 1875. Today, Serbian spruce is limited to the area of ~100 km2 localized around the mid-course of the Drina River in the mountainous central Balkans, at the border of Republic of Serbia and Republic of Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Within this small area, ~30 remnant populations of various sizes are scattered at north-to-northwest orientated slopes of hills. Given the current state of Serbian spruce populations as well as extreme climate events and poor natural regeneration in this species, applied “do not touch” conservation approach is severely questioned, and some alternative protection and in situ and ex situ conservation actions have been put forward. In situ actions should involve: (1) facilitation of natural regeneration by selective removal of individual competitor trees, (2) assisted natural regeneration by planting high quality seedlings throughout the species current natural range or at nearby suitable sites, and (3) assisted natural regeneration by direct seeding. Although in situ actions may provide short-term persistence of Serbian spruce, ex situ actions, i.e., assisted migration, achieved by both assisted range expansion and assisted species migration, are inevitable, since it is very likely that Serbian spruce will disappear from its natural habitats in the near future due to the rapid climate change.

Bosnia and Herzegovina is divided into three areas with different climatic conditions: the northern flat is characterized by continental climate, the central part characterized by moderate climate and alpine climate and the southern part characterized by Mediterranean. According to climate change models, it is expected that the average annual temperature will increase to an average between +0.8 and +1.0 °C during the 2010–2030 period and from 1 to 3 °C during the 2031–2060 period. Precipitation will decrease by 10% in the western parts of the country, but it will increase by 5% in the east. Autumn and winter will have the largest decrease in precipitation. The impact on forest ecosystems is inevitable. Negative consequences of extreme climate in forests and forest ecosystems are not easy to identify. Their disclosure requires short term and long-term research and monitoring. This is the only way to determine and identify the cumulative effects of temperature and precipitation. Some of very resistant populations of the most important tree species have been identified and there is need for further investigations and target utilization of such material. Bosnia and Herzegovina is taking steps to address climate change issues, both at state level and internationally. Within Bosnia and Herzegovina climate change is increasingly seen as an issue of key strategic importance, especially by local authorities and the academic community.

Forest genetic resources (FGR) of Romania harbour high genetic diversity although human impact, during the last two centuries, has strongly affected forest ecosystem composition and structure. Dynamic in situ conservation of FGR was the first choice approach to conserve the adaptation potential in natural populations of target tree species by selecting most representative and valuable populations. However, only 17 FGR growing in extreme environmental conditions have been selected and incorporated into the National Catalogue of Forest Genetic Resources. Establishment of new FGR in marginal tree populations that are close to the xeric limit of speciesʼ natural distribution should be extended. Almost half of tree populations selected for adaptation and included in the National Catalogue of Basic Materials for Production of Forest Reproductive Materials are represented by oak species, which is explained by lack of natural regeneration in the last decades. The shortage of native forest reproductive material of oak species (e.g. Quercus robur, Q. pedunculiflora, Q. pubescens) remains one of the biggest challenges in the conservation and management of rear edge oak populations in Romania. Molecular fingerprinting of FGR should constitute an important tool for genetic monitoring of evolutionary changes and to assist ecological reconstruction of fragmented tree populations. Collaboration with neighboring countries is an important aspect for dynamic conservation of FGR and their sustainable management.

Forest tree genetic monitoring and conservation are of the utmost significance for the persistence of natural forests. Genetic conservation aspires to guard and maintain genetic diversity which is crucial for safeguarding species adaptive potential. Genetic monitoring is the quantification of time-based alterations in population genetic structure and diversity which expose processes that preserve genetic variation in nature, pioneering prognosis and assisting in defining instruments for forest genetic resource management. Genetic monitoring is founded on the geneecological approach and therefore the proposed indicators are linked to the evaluation of genetic variation, genetic drift, gene flow, mating systems and natural selection. The development of genetic baseline data for the application of genetic monitoring in forest conservation areas in Greece is presented as a case study.

Climate change is predicted to have substantial effect on all components of biodiversity. The chapter presents a brief survey on the biodiversity in Bulgaria and its conservation. The impact of climate change on the biological diversity and on forests will provoke different and individual reactions of the species and ecosystems. These reactions will vary depending on the intrinsic biological characteristics of the species and ecosystems and on the particular environmental conditions. Biological diversity in Bulgaria is reviewed at different hierarchical levels, with particular reference to forest biodiversity and genetic resources. The high genetic diversity in the forest tree populations is a prerequisite for their successful adaptation to future environmental changes.

Climate change have the potential to strongly affect mountain coniferous forests in Bulgaria in several ways: (1) By directly affecting tree growth and the potential of trees to successfully cope with climate extremes; (2) By affecting disturbance events and regimes, which on their turn may trigger further habitat changes; (3) By facilitating migration of better adapted for the new climate condition species, which can outcompete other less adapted species and replace them and (4) By facilitating invasive species. In this chapter we provide data on the distribution of coniferous forests in Bulgarian mountains and short reviews of recent tree ring studies and studies on disturbance regimes. The tree ring data show the high importance of drought and other extreme climate events on high-mountain conifer species. This outlines that expected summer warming and temperature increase have the potential to strongly affect tree growth. The disturbance data shows the high importance of fires and windthrows, but also high number of snow damages and avalanches, which are not to be neglected. Insect outbreaks may be further facilitated if summer temperatures increase and allow species, which are currently limited by colder temperatures in higher altitudes, to affect also forests higher up. All these factors can act together and modify habitat quality and conditions and in this way put in risk species and genotypes with limited distribution and narrow growth niches. It is therefore necessary to take measures for ex-situ conservation of genotypes besides the well developed in-situ conservation in the network of protected areas in Bulgaria.

Evidence regarding fast climatic change is constantly accumulating and has been linked to an ongoing increase of fire occurrence and reproductive phenology modifications, both being crucial factors in the evolution of forest tree populations. Studying the effects of forest fires in the gene pool, it was found that in basic genetic diversity parameters that reflect the magnitude of genetic variation in natural populations, no significant differences between post-fire and control populations were observed. Nevertheless, the genetic architecture of post-fire populations compared to control populations presented some differences in the frequencies of rare alleles, the occurrence of interspecific hybridization in the post-fire populations and the observation of genetic bottleneck effects, especially in isolated populations. Forest fires may not induce genetic erosion in forest tree populations per se however population isolation compounded by periods of high forest fire frequency and intensity, may lead to adverse consequences for the architecture of the genetic diversity of forest trees. Such consequences may be compounded by reduced natural regeneration due to the decreased percentage of sound seed, a result of the anticipated reduction of tree fertility and flowering synchronization, induced by climatic change.

Obedska bara is the greatest flooded area of the river Sava in Serbia and one of the oldest protected natural ares in the world (protected since 1874). It is remain of the left riverbed of the river Sava. The main feature of this area is mixture of different types of wet sites (puddles, swamps, wet meadows, hygrophilous forests, etc.) that are occupied by different plant and animal species of a great national and international importance. Research in this nature reserve is related, before all, to influences between surface waters of the river Sava and Obedska bara on groundwater regime at wider area of this locality. Regime of fillfulling and emphasis of the water defines biocenosis development of this ecosystem. The research is related to period between 2002 and 2011 (10 years long) and obtained results define the state of this aquatic ecosystem.