Carbon balance in Spruce ecosystems affected by heavy windstorm in the Tatra Mts.

On November 19, 2004 the area of the High Tatra foothills was stuck by a violent downslope wind "bora". More than 12 000 ha of mostly spruce ecosystems were downed. This dramatic event created conditions to study the impact of such catastrophic windthrows, and its subsequent management, on carbon dynamic of coniferous forest. Eddy covariance measurement of carbon dioxide fluxes on three sites with different disturbance and management regime (EXT-fallen trees extracted, site reforested, NEX-fallen trees left on site, no artificial reforestation, and REF-intact forest) run from 2005 to 2007. Data confirmed that spruce ecosystems affected by windfall turned from carbon sink to carbon source. Faster succession of herbaceous layer mitigated enhanced respiration and larger carbon losses at EXT even during the first year after the storm. Since 2009 observation continues as soil respiration monitoring using closed chamber method.