In 2014 a catastrophic ice storm occurred in the forests of Börzsöny Mts., Hungary. In this study we analyzed the potential of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data, complemented, and compared with optical imagery, in mapping this event. Great emphasis was put on reference data: three types of field-based reference datasets were used and the damaged patches were delineated manually based on the visual interpretation of pre- and post-event orthophotos. Four classifications with different set-ups were carried out by applying the eXtreme Gradient Boosting method. Combinations of radar backscatter coefficients, polarimetric descriptors, interferometric coherence, and optical data variables were tested. All classifications were suitable for identifying uprooted trees properly (1–11% underestimation), but none of them could detect crown loss accurately (55–58% overestimation), based on the validation of the most damaged area. Proper differentiation of healthy forests with various levels of canopy closure in the reference data seems crucial for accurate canopy loss estimation. In the case of methods using only Sentinel-1 imagery, interferometric coherence together with polarimetric descriptors provided the best results (OA: 65.7%). This setup can be useful for immediate uproot damage detection for planning salvage logging if a natural disturbance happens outside the vegetation period.

Ungulate populations have surged to unsustainable levels in multiple areas in recent decades due to human intervention, making forestry and conservation practices arduous. The population of ungulates is also currently displaying a rising trend in Hungary, prompting decision-makers to commence substantial reduction efforts. Our study examined the ungulate impact in three forested regions of Hungary, employing field survey sampling plots on almost 50,000 hectares. Our findings revealed that regeneration browsing and soil disturbance were evenly high in these areas, while the cover of the regeneration layer was extremely low. Ungulate pressure was suspected as the cause of the lack of regeneration. Based on habitat and vegetation conditions, we divided our sample as favourable and unfavourable for regeneration. The cover of the regeneration categories was not significantly different between the two sets. The evidence of the direct indicators, including browsing and soil disturbance, coupled with the lack of regeneration, leads us to infer indirect signs of ungulate pressure. The absence of older and taller vegetation in the area also suggests long-standing ungulate pressure. Our investigation suggests that the high ungulate population can cause low abundance, even the lack of regeneration, not only locally but also at a regional scale.

As the multi-scale study of biodiversity is extremely resource-intensive, proxy indicators taken from various databases are often used to answer questions on a larger spatial scale. Considering differences in the scale and methods, the application of such indicators (especially from different monitoring systems) requires careful consideration and standard methods of validation. In order to demonstrate this, we validated the results of the MAES-HU (National Ecosystem Assessment of Hungary) forest condition assessment (based on the Hungarian NFD – National Forestry Database) with thematically richer, finer-scale field data. We also examined the relationships of some MAES-HU indicators with other variables significant for nature conservation, not currently included in the NFD. We found the MAES-HU scoring was similar to the fine-scale score results in the case of tree species composition indicators, however, less so for structural indicators. The MAES-HU assessment uses the values of the NFD, averaged for forest management units, and thus tends to underestimate structural variety. This highlights a potential loss of important conservation-related information. During the examination of relationships with other indicators that are not included in the large-scale MAES-HU assessment, we found that the presence of large-diameter and old trees correlates with tree-related microhabitats and large standing deadwood, but no relationship was found for other investigated indicators (game pressure, further deadwood indicators). This highlights the need for integrating some key conservation indicators (presence of old and large trees, quantity and quality of standing and lying deadwood) into existing forest monitoring systems in order to optimise the resources dedicated to multipurpose data collection. Our study also highlights that applying indicators as proxies requires the full knowledge of monitoring methods and validated indicator-indicanda relationships.

The use of proxies in habitat assessments has become widespread in recent decades. We used forest state descriptive data from a large-scale project (SCP) as proxies to investigate the occurrence of habitats suitable for some protected saproxylic beetles. We searched for pre-defined tree-related microhabitats (TreMs) suitable for saproxylic beetles in 1 ha quadrats in the Börzsöny Mts., Hungary. We compared the frequency of each microhabitat type with the aggregated values of the forest state proxies. Our results suggest that the average number of snags with DBH = 21–50 cm and the frequency of lying deadwood with Ø > 35 cm can adequately represent the occurrence of all beetle microhabitats studied. In most cases, the frequency of plots with species richness of live canopy trees with DBH > 35 cm and the amount of lying dead wood were also good indicators. The TreM indicators of the SCP alone can detect the presence of specialist beetles requiring cavities. The stands with a better forest state had more protected saproxylic beetles. The practical implementation of our work is based on the optimization of the resources required for monitoring. In surveys prepared to cover large areas, it is easier to monitor the habitat of saproxylic beetles with the help of individual proxies.

Accurate identification of deciduous woody species in winter is challenging, and the misidentification can lead to ecological and management damage. This study aims to substantiate a diagnostic system for woody species based on macromorphological bark characters. First, we reviewed the literature on bark-based species identification to assess existing approaches and their limitations. Building on this, we identified informative macromorphological features of bark through both literature analysis and our experiences. These characters cover all developmental phases, including twigs, young bark, and mature bark, and are supported by new diagnostic terminology. Using this framework, we compiled a character set for 115 Central European woody taxa, providing practical, primarily qualitative traits that can be applied directly in the field. Finally, we developed and tested “Single-access Keys” as an alternative to conventional dichotomous keys, demonstrating their effectiveness in enabling flexible and rapid species recognition, even under atypical conditions or when only partial observations are possible. Our results highlight the value of bark macromorphology as a diagnostic tool and emphasize its potential for advancing thematic identification keys, as well as digital applications in forestry, taxonomy, and ecological monitoring.

Egységes európai módszert természetesség-becslés céljából még nem dolgoztak ki. Minden országnak és kutatócsoportnak megvan a saját (erdő)természetességmérő, illetve értékelő módszere. Csehország jogszabályait és módszerét példaértékűnek tartjuk, ezért ezt részletesen bemutatjuk. Magyarországon az erdőtermészetesség-értékelésnek több évtizedes története van, amelyet áttekintünk munkánk során. A módszereket röviden bemutatjuk, illetve a változókészletüket részletesen összevetjük. Az irodalomkutatás során azt találtuk, hogy először a botanikusok cönológiai mutatók segítségével adtak információt a vizsgált területek degradáltságáról. Az erdészek a gazdálkodási szempontokat is bevonták a saját módszereik kidolgozásába. A Magyarországi erdők természetességének vizsgálata (TERMERD) projektben csúcsosodtak ki a módszertani törekvések, hiszen ez rendelkezett a legátfogóbb változókészlettel és legnagyobb (országos szintű) tényleges terepi adatgyűjtésen alapuló értékeléssel. Szinte minden ezt követő új módszer a TERMERD kisebb-nagyobb mértékű átdolgozásából, fejlesztéséből, tömörítéséből állt. A TERMERD projekt hatására a 2009. évi Erdőtörvény óta minden erdőrészletről kötelező megállapítani annak Természetességi Mutatóját (TERMMUT). A TERMMUT módszere nincs gondosan publikálva, számítása jelentős szubjektivitással terhelt. A csehországi jogszabályokkal összevetve azt tapasztaltuk, hogy az alkalmazott nómenklatúra nincs összeegyeztetve a nemzetközi szabványokkal. A TERMMUT kapcsán felmerülő problémák feloldása az lehetne, ha más, kellő mértékben validált módszerrel értékelnénk országos szinten az erdeink természetességét, és ennek eredményeit kommunikálnánk külföldre.