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Month: June 2019

Deadwood management in production forests

Deadwood management in production forests

Published June 26, 2019 by Maria Schlossmacher

Written by Lucie Vítková

“Deadwood has a major role for the conservation of saproxylic species and contributes to carbon sequestration, nutrient supply, natural regeneration and protection against falling rocks.” (Lachat et al., 2013:92)*

A substantial amount of literature on the importance of deadwood in Central European forests has been available providing partial recommendations to enhance deadwood-dependent biodiversity. However, a comprehensive review of science- and forestry experts-based recommendations effectively enhancing deadwood bearing in mind operational implications has not been presented in international literature.

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Wald-Wild-Klima! In Brandenburg haben sich die Wildbestände seit 1957 mehr als verzehnfacht

Wald-Wild-Klima! In Brandenburg haben sich die Wildbestände seit 1957 mehr als verzehnfacht

Published June 21, 2019 by Alexander Held

Anlässlich des 10-jährigen Bestehens des Landesbetriebs Forst Brandenburg gratulierte Forststaatssekretärin Carolin Schilde in Ihrem Grußwort allen Verantwortlichen und betonte dabei die Bedeutung des Waldumbaus in Zeiten des Klimawandels.

Noch sind 500.000 ha des Brandenburger Waldes reine Kiefernbestände. Die Folgen der Kiefernreinwirtschaft seit ihrem Beginn vor über 200 Jahren werden auch erst in Generationen zu bewältigen sein. „Forstleute wissen, dass eine Beimischung von zirka zehn (Prozent) Laubholz bereits wesentlich dazu beiträgt, dass Massenvermehrungen von Kiefernschadinsekten einzudämmen. Uns allen muss klar sein, dass der aktive Waldumbau mit Fördermitteln keine flächendeckende Lösung sein kann“, fasste die Staatssekretärin zusammen.

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Spirituality of the urban forest

Spirituality of the urban forest

Published June 18, 2019 by Maria Schlossmacher

Written by Joshua Amaitum Elukut

“When we pay attention to nature’s music, we find that everything on earth contributes to its harmony.” – Hazrat Inayat Khan

Twenty first century cities are characterized by tall skyscrapers, high residential densities, improved public transport infrastructure, as well as buildings of historical heritage. More people are moving from rural to urban areas, with the proportion of global urban population set to increase from 14% in 1900 to over 66% in 2025.

It is unfortunate that despite this trend, many urban areas lack adequate green infrastructure thus the ratio of green areas to built up areas is low. This gives inhabitants the feeling that they live in a ‘concrete jungle’ and are divorced from the natural world, contrary to earlier times when trees had a dominant influence upon human life and were sacred in many cultures.  

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Learn, grow, protect – environmental education in urban forest

Learn, grow, protect – environmental education in urban forest

Published June 13, 2019 by Maria Schlossmacher

Written by Vera Knill

„Don’t underestimate the ability of children to help drive change!“ Jo Sayers (The Mersey Forest)

Urban forests serve as a biodiversity hub and enhance resilience to environmental changes. As one of the most significant ecosystems for CO2 reduction from the atmosphere, forests do not only mitigate climate change. They also increase societal benefits, improve the quality of life and shelter the declining species of manifold flora and fauna. To spread this knowledge and to preserve and restore forest ecosystems, education for sustainable development is key.

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Integrated forest management case study: Boreal Forests

Integrated forest management case study: Boreal Forests

Published June 7, 2019 by Joost de Koning

Part 1. Boreal Forests

The North remembers! Or does it? Winter was coming when I traveled to Scandinavia this January to conduct interviews on integrated forest management. For those less familiar with forestry jargon, this term describes a forest management characterized at attaining multiple outputs from the same forest, sometimes even the same stand. The term is very broad and needs to be specified further before it can be applied. In the case of the INFORMAR project, on which I will write here, we assess the application of nature conservation measures into forestry.

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Irish Marteloscopes: learning from each other’s experiences

Irish Marteloscopes: learning from each other’s experiences

Published June 6, 2019 by amschuck

A workshop took place at the Agriculture and Food Development Authority (Teagasc), Oak Park, Carlow in Ireland mid-February 2019 to allow for a professional exchange on how Marteloscopes are used for training and education. Around 15 workshop participants representing Teagasc, Coillte, the Forestry Division of the Department of Agriculture Food and Marine (DAFM), the Irregular Silviculture Network (ISN) and EFI discussed the potential for cooperation involving both new Irish Marteloscopes sites and those of the existing Marteloscope network.

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The Forest Biodiversity Programme METSO – voluntary forest conservation and management in private forests

The Forest Biodiversity Programme METSO – voluntary forest conservation and management in private forests

Published June 3, 2019 by Maria Schlossmacher

During the meeting of the European Network Integrate in Toruń, Poland, Sanna Kasurinen, from the Finnish Forest Centre, presented the METSO-programme, an initiative aiming to halt the ongoing decrease of biodiversity of forest habitats and species in Finnish forests. The Forest Biodiversity Programme in particular addresses private forest owners. The overall objective is that based on a voluntary agreement, nature conservation is enhanced and communication improved on biodiversity of forest habitats and ecosystem services amongst stakeholders.

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