Management or Climate and Which One Has the Greatest Impact on Forest Soil's Protective Value? A Case Study in Romanian Mountains

The protective value of forests is expected to be affected by climate change. Applied forest management could absorb or enhance such an impact. In this context, we developed a new protective value index (PVI) that includes biometric and topographical indicators of forest stands. Using PVI and the LandClim model, we simulated 100 years with low- and high-intensity cuttings within three climate scenarios to analyze their influence on the protective value of forests included in the soil protection category. The management types had a low impact on PVI during the simulation period. However, the effects of moderate climate intensified in the second half of the simulation period. In contrast, the extreme climate had the highest impact on PVI and its variables throughout the whole period. The forest stands from lower elevation reached a higher protective value than intermediate and high elevation. Although the low-elevation forest stands are the most vulnerable to climate changes, the ongoing adaptation conducts to stands with higher protective value than stable forests from the higher elevation. The PVI is easily adaptable for different forest landscape models and can be widely applied to provide an integrated assessment of the forest protective value and the management measures to maintain or enhance it.