Ukrainian Journal of Forest and Wood Science

The problem of biotic stability of Carpathian forests under the influence of climate change: Theoretical analysis

Ivanna Kulbanska, Anatoliy Goychuk, Marina Shvets
Download article
Abstract

The problem of preserving the biotic stability of forest ecosystems in the context of climate change is particularly relevant for the Ukrainian Carpathians, where climatic anomalies and anthropogenic influences exacerbate pathological processes and reduce the adaptive capacity of forest communities. The aim of the study was to theoretically summarise and critically analyse scientific ideas on the problem of biotic stability of Carpathian forests under the influence of climate change, with an emphasis on the role of climate-induced disturbances and internal biotic factors in the formation of pathological processes. The methodological basis of the study was a systematic and comparative analysis of scientific publications, a conceptual synthesis of literature data, and a generalisation of modern theoretical approaches in the field of forestry, ecology, and forest phytopathology. As a result, it was established that climate change is an active factor in reducing the biotic stability of forest ecosystems in the Ukrainian Carpathians, causing maladaptation of woody plants, disruption of competitive relationships between species, and an increase in the frequency of natural disturbances. It has been shown that climate-induced hydrothermal stresses create conditions for the realisation of the pathogenic potential of phytopathogenic organisms and play a decisive role in the formation of epiphytotic processes. It is substantiated that an important internal factor in the reduction of biotic stability is endophytic myco- and microbiota, in particular pathogenic obligates, which, under conditions of disruption of the homeostasis of the host plant, transition from a latent existence to active pathogenicity. It has been shown that the combination of climatic stresses and the presence of hidden infectious reservoirs causes the sudden and massive nature of many pathological phenomena in the Carpathian forests. The practical value of the work lies in the possibility of using the theoretical generalisations obtained to assess the level of biotic stability of forest ecosystems, predict phytopathological risks and develop adaptive forest management strategies aimed at maintaining and restoring their biotic stability in the context of climate change

Keywords

adaptive capacity of ecosystems; phytosanitary status; climate-induced stress; endophytic microorganisms; vital obligates; epiphytotic processes

Suggested citation
Kulbanska, I., Goychuk, A., & Shvets, M. (2026). The problem of biotic stability of Carpathian forests under the influence of climate change: Theoretical analysis. Ukrainian Journal of Forest and Wood Science, 17(1), 24-42. https://doi.org/10.31548/forest/1.2026.24
References
  1. Anand, R., Paul, L., & Chanway, C. (2006). Research on endophytic bacteria: Recent advances with forest trees. In B.J.E. Schulz, C.J.C. Boyle & T.N. Sieber (Eds.), Microbial root endophytes. Soil biology (vol. 9). Berlin: Springer. doi: 10.1007/3-540-33526-9_6.
  2. Atkinson, N.J., & Urwin, P.E. (2012). The interaction of plant biotic and abiotic stresses: From genes to the field. Journal of Experimental Botany, 63(10), 3523-3543. doi: 10.1093/jxb/ers100.
  3. Bahniuk, B.M., & Didukh, Ya.P. (2002). Environmental problems of Transcarpathia. Scientific Notes of the National University “Kyiv-Mohyla Academy”. Biology and Ecology, 20, 61-67.
  4. Bessonova, V.P., & Yakovlieva-Nosar, V.P. (2014). Plant physiology. Dnipro: IE A.L. Svidler.
  5. Bohoslavets, O.M. (2023). New record of rare boreo-montane polypore Resinoporia piceata (Fomitopsidaceae) in Ukraine. Chornomorski Botanical Journal, 19(4), 358-364. doi: 10.32999/ksu1990-553X/2023-19-4-2.
  6. Bohoslavets, O.M., & Prydiuk, M.P. (2023). New records of rare wood-inhabiting fungi from the Ukrainian Carpathians. Czech Mycology, 75(1), 61-83.
  7. Brasier, C., Denman, S., Brown, A., & Webber, J. (2004). Sudden oak death (Phytophthora ramorum) discovered on trees in Europe. Mycological Research, 108, 1108-1110. doi: 10.1017/S0953756204221244.
  8. Bublyk, Ya.Yu., & Klymyshyn, O.S. (2023). Xylotrophic ascomycetes of protected ecosystems of the Ukrainian Carpathians. In Modern problems and the latest theories of development (pp. 21-27). Munich: European Conference.
  9. Cankar, K., Kraigher, H., Ravnikar, M., & Rupnik, M. (2005). Bacterial endophytes from seeds of Norway spruce (Picea abies L. Karst). FEMS Microbiology Letters, 244(2), 341-345. doi: 10.1016/j.femsle.2005.02.008.
  10. Chernevyi, Yu.I. (2023). Ecology of forests of the Carpathian part of the Dniester River basin: Heterogeneity and dynamics of formation. Lviv: Lviv Polytechnic Publishing House.
  11. Cui, R., et al. (2021). A novel raffinose biological pathway is observed by symbionts of cotton=Verticillium dahliae to improve salt tolerance genetically on cotton. Journal of Agronomy and Crop Science, 207, 956-969. doi: 10.1111/jac.12556.
  12. Didukh, Ya.P., & Chornei, I.I. (Eds.). (2016). Climatogenic changes in the flora of the Ukrainian Carpathians. Chernivtsi: Druk Art.
  13. Dudka, I.O., Heliuta, V.P., Prydyuk, M.P., Tykhonenko, Yu.Ya., Akulov, O.Yu., Haiova, V.P., Zykova, M.O., Andrianova, T.V., Dzhahan, V.V., & Shcherbakova, Yu.V. (2019). Mushrooms of reserves and national natural parks of the Ukrainian Carpathians. Kyiv: Naukova Dumka.
  14. El Enshasy, H.A., Hanapi, S.Z., Malek, R.A., Abdelgalil, S.A., & Leng, O.M. (2019). Endophytic fungi: The desired biostimulants for essential oil production. In B.P. Singh (Ed.), Advances in endophytic fungal research: Present status and future challenges (pp. 211-232) Cham: Springer International Publishing. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-03589-1_10.
  15. European Forest Institute. (2022). Climate change impacts on European forests. Retrieved from https://efi.int/publications.
  16. FAO. (2020). Global forest resources assessment 2020: Main report. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
  17. Felbaba-Klushyna, L.M. (2009). Current status, trends of change and ways to preserve and restore the biodiversity of the vegetation cover of the Transcarpathian Lowland. Scientific Bulletin of the Uzhhorod University. Series Biology, 25, 71-88.
  18. Flor, H.H. (1947). Inheritance of reaction to rust in flax. Journal of Agricultural Research, 74, 241-262.
  19. Fokshei, S.I., & Derzhypilskyi, L.M. (2021). New mycological finds on the territory of the Hutsulshchyna National Park. Scientific Herald of Chernivtsy University. Biology (Biological Systems), 13(2), 172-190. doi: 10.31861/biosystems2021.02.191.
  20. Furdychko, O.I. (2002). Carpathian forests: Problems of ecological safety and sustainable development of the mountain region. Lviv: Biblos.
  21. Gouda, S., Das, G., Sen, S.K., Shin, H.S., & Patra, J.K. (2016). Endophytes: A treasure house of bioactive compounds of medicinal importance. Frontiers in Microbiology, 7, article number 1538. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2016.01538.
  22. Goychuk, A., & Rozenfeld, V. (2011). Bacterial diseases of Scots pine. Proceedings of the Forestry Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, 9, 130-136.
  23. Gull, A., Lone, A.A., & Wani, N.U.I. (2019). Biotic and abiotic stresses in plants. In Abiotic and biotic stress in plants. London: IntechOpen. doi: 10.5772/intechopen.85832.
  24. Gunderson, L.H., & Holling, C.S. (2001). Panarchy: Understanding transformations in human and natural systems. Washington: Island Press.
  25. Hensiruk, S.A. (2002). Forests of Ukraine. Lviv: UKRDLTU.
  26. Holubets, M.A. (2016). Fundamentals of restoring the functional essence of Carpathian forests. Lviv: Manuskrypt.
  27. IPBES. (2019). Global assessment report on biodiversity and ecosystem services. Bonn: Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services.
  28. Izumi, H. (2011). Diversity of endophytic bacteria in forest trees. In A. Pirttilä & A. Frank (Eds.), Endophytes of forest trees. Forestry sciences (vol. 80). Dordrecht: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-94-007-1599-8_6.
  29. Johnstone, J.F., et al. (2016). Changing disturbance regimes, ecological memory, and forest resilience. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 14(7), 369-378. doi: 10.1002/fee.1311.
  30. Kosakivska, I.V. (2008). Biomarkers of plants with different types of ecological strategies. General and Applied Plant Physiology, 34(1-2), 113-126.
  31. Kovalchuk, I.P., & Mykhnovych, A.B. (2004). Modern morphodynamic processes in mountain-forest landscapes of the Ukrainian Carpathians. Scientific Bulletin of UNFU, 14.3, 273-285.
  32. Kriuchkova, O.L., Nezhyhai, L.M., & Chechenieva, T.M. (2010). Genetic basis of wheat resistance to fungal diseases. Physiology and Biochemistry of Cultivated Plants, 42(3), 202-209.
  33. Kruhlov, I., Thom, D., Chaskovskyy, O., Keeton, W.S., & Scheller, R.M. (2018). Future forest landscapes of the Carpathians: Vegetation and carbon dynamics under climate change. Regional Environmental Change, 18, 1555-1567. doi: 10.1007/s10113-018-1296-8.
  34. Krynytskyi, H., & Tretiak, P. (2003). The state of the forests of the Ukrainian Carpathians, ecological problems and prospects. Proceedings of the Shevchenko Scientific Society, 7, 54-65.
  35. Kulbanska, I.M., Plikhtyak, P.P., Shvets, M.V., Soroka, M.I., & Goychuk, A.F. (2022). Lelliottia nimipressuralis (Carter 1945) Brady et al. 2013 as the causative agent of bacterial wetwood disease of common silver fir (Abies alba Mill.). Folia Forestalia Polonica, 64(3), 173-183. doi: 10.2478/ffp-2022-0017.
  36. Luptáková, E., & Mihál, I. (2020). Dynamics of ectomycorrhizal mycobiota (Basidiomycota) communities on a former agricultural land (West Carpathians). Mycological Progress, 19(9), 845-857. doi: 10.1007/s11557-020-01597-1.
  37. Matsiakh, I. (2021). Invasive alien pathogens as a threat to global biodiversity. Proceedings of the Forestry Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, 22, 11-26. doi: 10.15421/412101.
  38. Matsiakh, I., López‐García, N., Kacprzyk, M., & Cleary, M. (2023). Susceptibility of silver birch and black alder to several Phytophthora species isolated from soils in declining broadleaf forests in western Ukraine. Forest Pathology, 53(4), article number e12817. doi: 10.1111/efp.12817.
  39. Melnyk, A.V. (1999). Ukrainian Carpathians: Ecological and landscape research. Lviv: LNU.
  40. Musiienko, M.M. (2005). Plant physiology. Kyiv: Lybid.
  41. Odelade, K.A., & Babalola, O.O. (2019). Bacteria, Fungi and Archaea domains in rhizospheric soil and their effects in enhancing agricultural productivity. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(20), article number 3873. doi: 10.3390/ijerph16203873.
  42. Parpan, V., Shparyk, Y., Slobodyan, P., Parpan, T., Korshov, V., Brodovich, R., Krynyckyi, G., Debryniuk, Y., Kramarets, V., & Cheban, I. (2014). Forest management peculiarities in secondary norway Spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) stands of the Ukrainian Carpathians. Proceedings of the Forestry Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, 12, 20-29.
  43. Pasailiuk, M.V. (2022). The history of research on fungi and fungus-like organisms in the territory of the Hutsulshchyna National Park and the role of in situ, ex situ, and re situ methods in preserving their diversity. Proceedings of the State Natural History Museum, 38, 63-72.
  44. Poveda, J. (2021). Beneficial effects of microbial volatile organic compounds (MVOCs) in plants. Applied Soil Ecology, 168, article number 104118. doi: 10.1016/j.apsoil.2021.104118.
  45. Protopopova, V.V., Shevera, M.V., Chornei, I.I., Tokariuk, A.I., Budzhak, V.V., & Korzhan, K.V. (2010). Transformer species in the flora of Bukovyna Precarpathia. Ukrainian Botanical Journal, 67(5), 852-864.
  46. Prysedskyi, Yu.H. (2017). Plant resistance. Vinnytsia: Nilan-LTD.
  47. Pulsford, S.A., Lindenmayer, D.B., & Driscoll, D.A. (2016). A succession of theories: Purging redundancy from disturbance theory. Biological Reviews, 91(1), 148-167. doi: 10.1111/brv.12163.
  48. Puri, A., Padda, K.P., & Chanway, C.P. (2017). Beneficial effects of bacterial endophytes on forest tree species. Endophytes: Crop Productivity and Protection, 16, 111-132. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-66544-3_6.
  49. Radic, N., & Strukelj, B. (2012). Endophytic fungi – the treasure chest of antibacterial substances. Phytomedicine, 19(14), 1270-1284. doi: 10.1016/j.phymed.2012.09.007.
  50. Ruiz-Gómez, F.J., Pérez-de-Luque, A., & Navarro-Cerrillo, R.M. (2019). The involvement of phytophthora root rot and drought stress in holm oak decline: From ecophysiology to microbiome influence. Current Forestry Reports, 5(4), 251-266. doi: 10.1007/s40725-019-00105-3.
  51. Scheel, D. (1998). Resistance response physiology and signal transduction. Current Opinion in Plant Biology, 1(4), 305-310. doi: 10.1016/1369-5266(88)80051-7.
  52. Schouten, A. (2019). Endophytic fungi: Definitions, diversity, distribution and their significance in plant life. In A. Schouten (Ed.), Endophyte biotechnology: Potential for agriculture and pharmacology (pp. 6-31). Wallingford: CABI. doi: 10.1079/9781786399427.0006.
  53. Seidl, R., & Lexer, M.J. (2013). Forest management under climatic and social uncertainty: Trade-offs between reducing climate change impacts and fostering adaptive capacity. Journal of Environmental Management, 114, 461-469. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2012.09.028.
  54. Sele, H. (2016). Stress without distress. B.M. Mankovsky Journal of Neurology, 4(1), 78-89.
  55. Senila, M., Resz, M.A., Torok, I., & Senila, L. (2024). Nutritional composition and health risk of toxic metals of some edible wild mushrooms growing in a mining area of Apuseni Mountains, Western Carpathians. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis, 128, article number 106061. doi: 10.1016/j.jfca.2024.106061.
  56. Shcherbyn-Parfenenko, A.L. (1963). Bacterial diseases of forest species. moscow: Hoslesbumyzdat.
  57. Soldatov, A.H., Tiukov, S.Yu., & Turkevych, M.V. (1960). Forests of Ukraine. Kyiv: UASHN.
  58. Sopushynskyi, I., Kopolovets, Ya., & Poliak, V. (2021). Features of biological damage to the trunk wood of white fir by Hartig’s tinder fungus in the Ukrainian Carpathians. In Current issues, paths, and prospects for the development of landscape architecture, garden-park management, urban ecology, and phytomelioration: Materials of the international scientific-practical conference (pp. 100-102). Bila Tserkva: BNAU.
  59. Stoiko, S.M., & Yermolenko, Yu.P. (1976). The Carpathians through the eyes of the curious. Lviv: Kameniar.
  60. Stoiko, S.M. (2018). Biosphere reserves are a guarantee of preserving natural diversity and sustainable development. In Natural resources of the region: Issues of utilization, revitalization, and protection: Materials of the 3rd international scientific seminar (pp. 317-321). Lviv: LNU.
  61. Stone, J.K., Bacon, C.W., & White Jr., J.F. (2000). An overview of endophytic microbes: Endophytism defined. In Microbial endophytes (pp. 17-44). Boca Raton: CRC Press. doi: 10.1201/9781482277302-1.
  62. Sturz, A.V., & Nowak, J. (2000). Endophytic communities of rhizobacteria and the strategies required to create yield enhancing associations with crops. Applied Soil Ecology, 15(2), 183-190. doi: 10.1016/S0929-1393(00)00094-9.
  63. Thom, D., Rammer, W., & Seidl, R. (2017). Disturbances catalyze the adaptation of forest ecosystems to changing climate conditions. Global Change Biology, 23(1), 269-282. doi: 10.1111/gcb.13506.
  64. Tretyak, P., & Chernevyy, Yu. (2022). The influence of forest biomass growth on evaporation intensity and possible regional climate changes. Sylwan, 166(01). doi: 10.26202/sylwan.2021086.
  65. Umar, O.B., Ranti, L.A., Abdulbaki, A.S., Bola, A.L., Abdulhamid, A.K., Biola, M.R., & Victor, K.O. (2021). Stresses in plants: Biotic and abiotic. In Current trends in wheat research. London: IntechOpen. doi: 10.5772/intechopen.100501.
  66. Uzma, F., et al. (2018). Endophytic fungi-alternative sources of cytotoxic compounds: A review. Frontiers in Pharmacology, 9, article number 309. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2018.00309.
  67. Verma, S., Nizam, S., & Verma, P.K. (2013). Biotic and abiotic stress signaling in plants. In Stress signaling in plants: Genomics and proteomics perspective (vol. 1, pp. 25-49). New York: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-1-4614-6372-6_2.
  68. War Nongkhla, F.M., & Joshi, S.R. (2014). Epiphytic and endophytic bacteria that promote growth of ethnomedicinal plants in the subtropical forests of Meghalaya, India. Revista de Biología Tropical, 62(4), article number 1295. doi: 10.15517/rbt.v62i4.12138.
  69. Wen, J., Okyere, S.K., Wang, S., Wang, J., Xie, L., Ran, Y., & Hu, Y. (2022). Endophytic fungi: An effective alternative source of plant-derived bioactive compounds for pharmacological studies. Journal of Fungi, 8(2), article number 205. doi: 10.3390/jof8020205.
  70. Yevtushenko, M.D., Lisovyi, M.P., Pantelieiev, V.K., & Slisarenko, O.M. (2004). Plant immunity. Kyiv: Koloobih.