Woody plants and stands in the health-resort park Brusno, evaluated for quality and quantity

Abstract

Health-resort parks are an important landscaping element, and, from the very beginning of the modern balneology, they have been embedded naturally into each watering place. The landscape design of the spa park Brusno is a close-to-nature one with minimum presence of regular planting. The park area is approximately 11.5 ha. We have inventoried in total 892 trees and shrubs, 2/3 domestic and 1/3 introduced. In both groups are dominant broadleaved woody plants. The inventory results show that the proposed sanitary cutting (148 woody plants in the park and 99 in the alder stand) is necessary for its successful development. We propose planting of new woody plants as substitution for the plants that do not fulfil their function any more, have not appropriate landscaping value and their presence in the stand is also a security risk. Because the stands mostly consist of domestic woody plants, and the National Nature Protection also requires preserving this character, we recommend to preserve it and, at the same time, to improve its attractiveness, by supplementary outplanting of exclusively domestic woody plants in appropriate shape, colour and growth forms.