Assessment of intangible ecosystem services of the Ternopil region forests

Abstract

Purpose. Assess the intangible ecosystem services of forests in the Ternopil region. Methods. Descriptive, statistical, assess and geoenvironmental analysis. Results. The article assess intangible ecosystem services forests of the Ternopil region: recreational capacity, oxygen production, carbon dioxide assimilation, greenhouse gas absorption. The region is dominated by operational forests, the average age of forests is 62 years. The main forest-forming species are oak, beech, hornbeam and ash. Ecologically permissible recreational capacity of forests of the Ternopil region is 824 400 people for all lands of the forest fund and 112 500 people for recreational-health forests. It is established that the average daily volume of oxygen production by forests of the region is 36,6 thousand tons, the volume of carbon dioxide assimilation – 45,8 thousand tons. Forests of Ternopil region, during the year, absorb 875 700 tons of greenhouse gases. The development of integrated use of forest resources and the expansion of the use of intangible forest resources remain priority areas for the forestry in the region. Conclusions. This area of research is promising and relevant, especially in the context of current global and regional climate change. Such studies should be detailed at the level of individual state forestry enterprises, administrative districts and territorial communities. The results of such research contribute to the monetization of forest ecosystem services and the rational management of forest ecosystems on the basis of sustainable development.

Keywords

• forests
• recreational capacity
• oxygen production
• carbon dioxide assimilation
• greenhouse gases