Important Plant Areas of Slovakia

Habitats

Slovakia’s natural and semi-natural habitats consist mainly of forest, from the large expanses of beech forest in the Carpathians to the Danube flood plain forest. And grasslands; from the alpine meadows of the mountains to dry calcareous grasslands, to alluvial and fen meadows. Slovakia also has a high number of endemic and limited range species.

Biogeographic zones

Slovakia borders the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Austria and Ukraine and has one Centre of Plant Diversity, the Carpathians.  The IPAs are distributed as follows in the different biogeographic zones: Alpine (102 IPAs) and Pannonic (52 IPAs). Forest is the most widespread and often dominant habitat. There are also many IPAs with grasslands, temperate scrub, bogs, base rich fens, running and standing water. Arable land forms a minor and in a few cases a significant habitat within 102 IPAs.

Land use in Slovakia

Forestry is the most widespread land use, along with hunting and nature conservation. Agricultural activity is also a major land use – grazing and animals, hay-making and mowing, mixed and arable.

Tourism and recreation occur within less than half the IPA’s, wild-plant harvesting, mineral extraction, fisheries and aquaculture are other activities that take place within some of the IPAs.

Challenges

Poor forestry practices are the most widespread threat to Important Plant Areas in Slovakia, affecting 94 IPAs in total. Habitat fragmentation and isolation also affects a high number of IPAs as well as abandonment or reduction of land management. Agricultural intensification, invasive plant species, tourism and recreation development, inappropriate water management systems, mineral extraction and transport or infrastructure development all affect the IPAs.