The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 21 March the International Day of Forests in 2012 to raise awareness of the importance of forests in preserving planet Earth. The theme for International Day of Forests for this year is Forests and Innovation: New Solutions for a Better World. The importance of forests for the industry and technology, as well as for carbon sequestration, hardly needs to be explained.
In the Plitvice Lakes National Park, over 4/5 of the total area of the park is covered by forests, the largest ecosystem in the Park. These forests are home to many different animal and plant species, while the world of mushrooms growing in the Plitvice Lakes forests is still underexplored. The most common tree species in these forests is the European or the common beech. As for the animal species, most people find the large carnivores—the bear, the wolf and the lynx—to be the most interesting and the most recognisable.
Of all the forests in the Plitvice Lakes National Park, the old growth forest Čorkova Uvala is especially fascinating. This primordial forest of beech and fir trees represents the unique remains of the old growth forests of Europe which were once much larger. This connection to the past is evidenced by the presence of all the stages of a European old growth beech and fir forest in Čorkova Uvala.
A recently published UNESCO study World Heritage forests: Carbon sinks under pressure—in which, out of all the World Heritage sites, the forests of the Plitvice Lakes National Park were ranked number four in absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere—confirms the key importance of natural forests on UNESCO lists in regulating climate change through capturing and storing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
A large number of pathways in the Plitvice Lakes National Park pass through forests. Take a walk along them, breathe in the rejuvenating forest air and feel yourself come to stillness. Maybe these forest landscapes awaken the innovator in you and contribute to a fantastic new technological discovery.
Happy International Day of Forests!
