Adaptive Forest Management: A Prerequisite for Sustainable Forestry in the Face of Climate Change

Abstract

Since Europe appears to be more affected by climate change than the global average, novel concepts for the adaptation of forest and forestry to future climate and site conditions are urgently needed in order to maintain a sustainable use of forest resources. In Central Europe, extreme weather events like heat waves, drought, and storms, which may increase in frequency and intensity, as well as raised activity of biotic agents, are thought to put a high level of disturbance pressure on forests. Based on recent studies and conceptual papers, we introduce a concept for adaptive forest management in Central Europe including various options for (1) perpetuation of forest structures, (2) active adaptation, and (3) passive adaptation. The feasibility of this concept in forest planning is discussed in light of examples from Bavaria (Germany) and southern Sweden. In addition the text addresses the implementation of adaptive forest management in silvicultural operations in order to assist forest adaptation to climate change, touching the fields of tree species selection, site preparation, regeneration techniques, thinning, and felling types. Though today’s debates on forest adaptation focus on forest transformation due to a replacement of tree species reputed to be sensitive to climate change pressures, we conclude that there is a large variety of promising silvicultural options such as site preparation and changed thinning and felling systems that reduce competition within the overstorey, but also particularly for regeneration. The use of species of different succesional stages in mixtures and of tested introduced species and provenances may also provide a dditional options for the adaptation of forest to climate change. However, research activities dealing with adequate adaptive measures must be intensified in order optimize the suggested adaptive management options.