Life beyond the Demise of the Corporation
Forests, once multifunctional ecosystems, are increasingly being relied upon to serve a single role in climate change mitigation: carbon storage. This shift can be seen in numerous climate protection targets and the European Green Deal, where forests are earmarked to offset greenhouse gas emissions from other sectors. However, forests are facing increasing damage, with the past few years showing significant impact, much like the 1980s when large areas in Europe were affected by acid rain.
According to Christopher Reyer, head of the working group on forest and ecosystem resilience at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), trees are still heavily damaged, despite some relief in recent years. The 2023 forest condition survey reveals that 40 percent of trees show crown thinning, with only 20 percent considered healthy. Spruces, characterized by shallow roots, have been significantly impacted by extreme drought and subsequent damage from windthrow and bark beetles.
Since 2018, local forests have been releasing more carbon than they absorb, due in part to the death of about one-sixth of the spruce stock and reduced carbon storage in wood due to drought.
The EU Forest Strategy 2030 advocates for more natural management, with the Association for Natural Forest Management (ANW) seeing significant success. ANW's approach, characterized by mixed age structures and appropriate tree species, helps forests cope better with the challenges of climate change. This method keeps peak temperatures up to five degrees lower than in traditional forests, and young trees, adapting to the new water and temperature extremes, seem to fare better.
Introducing tree species from other regions, such as Bulgaria or Romania, where trees have adapted to drought and heat for centuries, could also play a role. However, the ecological compatibility for water and nutrient balance, as well as the conservation safety of foreign species, must be ensured.
Despite these efforts, many questions remain unanswered, such as how much drought a tree species can tolerate and how to find trees that can balance today's frost requirements with the climate conditions expected in 50 to 70 years. These uncertainties are also a topic in teaching, as forest conversion is expected to shape the entire professional career of foresters.
The German Environment Agency (UBA) aims for 'Netto-Null by 2045,' expanding sinks through climate-resilient forests and long-lasting wood products. This involves converting monoculture and site-inappropriate coniferous stands into diverse, site-appropriate mixed forests. The authors lean on the continuous forest concept, advocating for forests that differ in age, crown height, form, and light and shade tolerance. However, UBA experts view the introduction of tree species from other parts of the world with caution.
For sustainable forest conversion to succeed, changes in timber demand and use, necessary changes in political framework conditions, and societal negotiation for multifunctional forestry are required. German forest owners face these challenges differently, with state forest administrations actively promoting forest conversion and private forest structures being more heterogeneous.
Implementing continuous cover forests (CCF) is not a quick fix; it takes several decades to transform a single-story forest into a vertically structured one. However, CCF play a significant role in climate resilience and carbon sequestration by maintaining forest cover continuously, retaining soil moisture, creating microclimates, and supporting biodiversity. For successful implementation and maintenance, sustainable forest management practices, adaptive management plans, investment and policy support, monitoring and research, and community engagement and education are crucial.
Despite the benefits of CCF, challenges include the need for initial investment, ongoing management effort, and ensuring compatibility with existing land-use policies. Yet, opportunities include the potential for CCF to contribute to net-zero goals, attract sustainable investments, and enhance biodiversity.
Science and health-and-wellness are closely intertwined with the environmental-science and climate-change discussions surrounding forests. The shift in the use of forests from multifunctional ecosystems to primarily carbon storage for climate change mitigation has raised concerns about the health of these forests, particularly as drought and other factors have led to an increase in tree damage and carbon emissions in Germany since 2018.
