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Resilience Blog Posts

Once upon a time… there was a marteloscope.

Once upon a time… there was a marteloscope.

Published January 20, 2021 by Jakob Derks

Stories of integrated forest management in Luxembourg

During times when polarisation seems to be on the rise on many levels, a growing number of forest managers is choosing to do the opposite and to bridge differences instead. The Integrate Network has since 2016 been exchanging information on forest management ideas that combine wood production with nature conservation, a feat which may sound contradictory to some but in many cases offers plenty of advantages compared to a segregated approach. The members, governmental organizations from 18 different European countries, reflect a diverse view on forestry, characterised by a variety of factors that differ from one region to another. The common theme is the belief that production and protection do not have to exclude each other, quite the opposite.

The open exchange of experiences in the Integrate Network is increasingly attracting interest, not only from policy makers but also from practitioners. The network of marteloscopes serves to demonstrate and visualise potential trade-offs between economy and ecology on a stand level, allowing on-field training for everyone with a professional or non-professional interest in forest management.

It is always exciting when new marteloscope sites are added to the steadily expanding list, but even more so when a new country decides to join the network. This was the case for the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg in 2019. ProSilva and the Nature and Forest Administration of Luxembourg contacted EFI to set up its first marteloscopes. As a Belgian I had been in Luxembourg several times before but still the beauty and the diversity of the landscapes of this small country never seize to amaze me.

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Locally adapted concepts promote biodiversity in Europe’s forestry: new anthology published

Locally adapted concepts promote biodiversity in Europe’s forestry: new anthology published

Published January 14, 2021 by Rosa Castañeda

Almost everywhere in Europe, forest biodiversity has decreased in recent decades. At the same time, the society’s expectations of the forest have increased. Therefore, many forest owners in Europe use the forest today in a way that, in addition to wood production, it also covers other demands of society. The recently published book on How to balance forestry and biodiversity conservation – A view across Europe summarizes the experience gained in balancing forestry and biodiversity protection.

The parallel existence of several forms of use, as in the case of numerous for instance Swiss or German forests, is what experts call “integrated forest management”. This multifunctional management approach requires those responsible for the forest to have a lot of experience and knowledge of ecological correlations.

To collect existing knowledge and experiences, a comprehensive anthology on “How to balance forestry and biodiversity conservation – A view across Europe” (free download here) has recently been published, edited by Frank Krumm and Andreas Riegling (Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow, and Landscape Research/WSL) as well as Andreas Schuck (EFI). The anthology was supported by the Swiss Federal Institute for the Environment (BAFU) and the German Federal Ministry for Food and Agriculture (BMEL). It contains the expertise in integrated forest management of more than 150 forest and nature conservation experts from 20 European countries. The knowledge acquired by different European partner organizations over the past three years provides, for the first time, a Europe-wide overview of how forests are managed in such a way that they simultaneously meet at least two requirements of society. In addition to wood production and biodiversity, drinking water protection, recreation or the protection of settlements and other infrastructures against erosion and natural hazards can also be important management goals.

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Waldschäden 2.0 -und was nun?

Waldschäden 2.0 -und was nun?

Published January 11, 2021 by Maria Schlossmacher

Marcus Lindner’s Beitrag zur Ringvorlesung “Aspekte der Erderwärmung”

Auch wenn derzeit viel stillsteht: Die Universität Bonn zusammen mit Students for Future Bonn hat in diesem Semester ihre Ringvorlesung “Aspekte der Erderwärmung” fortgesetzt und bietet viele interessante Vorträge von Experten*innen aus ganz unterschiedlichen Disziplinen an (Zum kompletten Programm geht es hier ). Die Ringvorlesung findet online statt und gibt Studierenden und allen interessierten Zuhörenden die Möglichkeit, ihre Fragen live und direkt an die Vortragenden zu richten.

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Ein zukunftsfähiges Waldkonzept entwickeln – das Projekt “Dauerwald”

Ein zukunftsfähiges Waldkonzept entwickeln – das Projekt “Dauerwald”

Published December 18, 2020 by Gesche Schifferdecker

Interview mit Hans von der Goltz

Hans von der Goltz ist Bundesvorsitzender der Arbeitsgemeinschaft Naturnahe Waldwirtschaft (ANW). Wir haben mit ihm über das neue ANW-Projekt “Dauerwald” gesprochen, über Chancen und Herausforderungen – und das Ziel, einen sowohl ökonomisch als auch ökologisch nachhaltigen Wald zu fördern.

Was ist eigentlich ein Dauerwald?

Ein Dauerwald ist ein Wald, in dem nicht nur verschiedene standortgerecht Baumarten, sondern auch Bäume unterschiedlichen Alters stehen. Er wird ohne Kahlschlag einzelbaumweise nach dem Prinzip der größtmöglichen Stetigkeit bewirtschaftet – Stetigkeit von Vorrat, Struktur, Zuwachs und ökologischen Grundlagen.

Warum brauchen wir Dauerwald?

Im Dauerwald führt relativ einheitliche Ausstattung aller „Waldetagen“ mit jungen, mittelalten und alten Bäumen zu Windruhe und zu einer deutlich höheren Luft- und Bodenfeuchte. Hierdurch werden Maximaltemperaturen gesenkt. Einzelne, besonders trocken- oder hitzeempfindliche Baumarten leiden natürlich auch, aber andere überdauern. Im Gegensatz zu wenig strukturierten Reinbeständen verschwindet bei den aktuellen Herausforderungen des Klimawandels nicht der ganze Wald, sondern eben nur einzelne Bäume. Der Wald bleibt erhalten – und das muss aktuell unser wichtigstes Ziel sein.

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Will 2021 be the year for forests? Implications of the upcoming EU Forest Strategy and other frameworks on forest ecosystem services

Will 2021 be the year for forests? Implications of the upcoming EU Forest Strategy and other frameworks on forest ecosystem services

Published December 14, 2020 by Lyla O' Brien

As the days grow shorter and colder, we are reminded that the final days of 2020 are just on the horizon, leaving us to reflect on the past year and make our hopes and aspirations for the following. But because we are people with a shared passion, we also make reflections and aspirations for our forests. With recent key EU policy frameworks such as the new Green Deal, Biodiversity Strategy to 2030 and the upcoming Forest Strategy, some questions might be on our minds. What are the implications of these new policies for the provision of forest ecosystem services (FES)? And what do representatives from policy, research, nature conservation as well as forest owners and managers consider to be essential in the Forest Strategy? On 7th December, the SINCERE Talks series jointly with the European Integrate Network produced the webinar “Towards an EU policy framework for forest ecosystem services – reflecting on 2020, exploring 2021” which provided a unique and exciting space to discuss these topics.

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Diversification of forest management systems in Ireland

Diversification of forest management systems in Ireland

Published December 9, 2020 by amschuck

Using marteloscope sites for educating on new approaches

A large number of private forests in Ireland are less than 30 years of age and many are approaching thinning stage. There is now greater need for owners to understand and control the thinning process in order to realise the full value of their forests as part of a sustainable management approach. This is imperative if a sustained level of timber mobilisation is to be achieved from private forests. There is also a growing demand, coming from forest owners, for diversification of management systems to complement the current clear fell-replant system. Recent developments in European and national forestry policy are directed at promoting integrated management as a means of enhancing forest resilience in the face of climate disruption, sustaining forest production and delivering diverse ecosystem services. These new systems, known as Continuous Cover Forestry (CCF), enable commercial timber harvesting while retaining a forest cover in the long term.

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Forest landscapes as functional networks: Novel approaches to manage for resilience

Forest landscapes as functional networks: Novel approaches to manage for resilience

Published December 1, 2020 by Marco Mina

Article by Marco Mina

Some time ago we discussed how viewing and analyzing forest landscapes as functional complex networks could be a promising approach to increase ecological resilience to global uncertainty. Now, two new studies show how this could be applied in differently structured landscapes.

Our blue marble planet is one single interconnected organism. From plants to pollinators, preys to predators, climate to primary production, Earth’s natural ecosystems have evolved for million years to build complex and balanced interactions. Forest landscapes are also complex ecological networks, which can be depicted in many ways depending on the scale of observation. For example, if we take a look at a satellite image of a rural area (e.g., an administrative region in Germany or in southern Canada), we will immediately recognize patches of forests fragmented by agricultural crops, roads, powerlines or human settlements. In other areas, forest might cover a larger proportion of the land, resulting in a more continuous matrix. In both cases, a series of interconnected relation exists among tree species, stands, and forest patches allowing the maintenance of vital functions of such ecological system.

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Ein anderer Blick auf das „Waldbrand Klima Resilienz“-Projekt

Ein anderer Blick auf das „Waldbrand Klima Resilienz“-Projekt

Published November 27, 2020 by Rosa Castañeda

Video und Text: Rosa Castañeda

Um die Ziele des Projekts „Waldbrand Klima Resilienz“ in einem Video wiederzugeben, war es wichtig für mich die WKR Projektaktivitäten hautnah zu erleben. Darum nahm ich an der Pressekonferenz in Bruchsal und an einem Feuerwehrtraining in Munster teil und habe mir das Ziel gesetzt, das Thema „Waldbrand“, das eine große Medienpräsenz hat, mit einer anderen Perspektive zu behandeln. Ein umfassendes Waldbrandmanagement bedeutet eben nicht nur Brände zu bekämpfen, sondern auch Prävention und Waldumbau als wichtige Elemente miteinzubeziehen.

Das Video bringt den Zuschauern das Projekt „Waldbrand Klima Resilienz“ nahe. Es zeigt das WKR-Team und die im Projekt beteiligten vielfältigen Akteure, wie Forst, Feuerwehr, Politik und Waldeigentümer, die ihre Erfahrungen miteinander teilen und für ein ganzheitliches Waldbrandmanagement zusammenarbeiten.

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