The Possibilities for Improvement of Ecosystem Services in Tara National Park
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Abstract
During recent years, ecosystem services have been put in the focus of research interest on global level. The importance of this subject is recognized in multiple scientific fields so the main goal of conducted research is assessment, valuation and implementation of these services. Most of the research considering forest ecosystem services is focused towards finding the solution for current and future climate change, and definition and assessment of other forest ecosystem services that have positive impact on environment, but also on humans. Recent medical research showed positive effects of forests on human health; spending time in forests resulted with blood pressure decrement, stress reduction and the increment of lymphocytes that reduce the amount of cancer cells. Amount of funds that are globally used on medicaments for symptom reduction of chronic diseases in terms of cardiovascular, pulmonary and mental illnesses, evidently show a huge impact of this subject on the economy. This paper describes the connection between forests and human health in the terms of forest ecosystem services and provides an assessment for future research and implementation of forest health paths in the Tara National Park. Establishment of forest health path will open new opportunities for further research where influence of different tree species will be assessed and effects of different genotypes on human health will be enlisted.
Keywords: ecosystem services, forest, health, Tara National Park, forest health path