Latvian Council of Science agreement No. lzp-2023/1-0558
With ever increasing anthropogenic impact on the environment, it is important to understand the functioning of human-made/-altered ecosystems and their positive and negative contributions to the society, as well as to identify the management approaches that would, to the extent possible, safeguard natural functioning of these ecosystems. Forest roads, a widespread part of forest landscape in Latvia, are a good example of such hybrid ecosystems.
This study will analyse ecosystem services and disservices provided by road ecosystems in three directions:
- ground vegetation (useful and invasive plants),
- invertebrates (pollinators and ticks),
- recreational importance and aesthetic quality.
Methodological approach includes field surveys with detailed measurements and sampling in three case study areas, as well as societal surveys to clarify socio-cultural aspects. The results of the study will allow identifying most important ecosystem services and disservices provided by forest roads, as well as environmental factors and specific characteristics of the forest road ecosystems that have the most profound impact on these (dis)services. The study will provide a significant input into career development of researchers-in-training.