Guidelines on Closer-To-Nature Forest Management
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EU has published and translated guidelines on closer-to-nature forest mangement in all European languages.
In Austria a parallel project (RESYNAT) was finished in 2006 with 11 reference stands that are already going to remeasuring in 2020 and 2021. There will be 4 new reference stand analysed in 2021 to get a broader representation of the main forest types in Austria. Dr. Georg Frank from BFW (Vienna) and Dr. Eckart Senitza (Pro Silva) also participated at the meeting in Hohenhaus (Germany)
Permanent forest - Forest for the future
On July 29, 2020, all forest owners involved in the permanent forest project, scientific partners and the responsible persons of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Naturgemäße Waldwirtschaft (ANW) and two collegues from Austria met in the forest enterprise "Gut Hohenhaus" in Herleshausen.
In the future, property and society will continue to need forests that are "green lungs" of our planet.
The rigors of climate change, however, pose great problems for the forests that are so important to us humans. To reduce the risk of large-scale forest loss, it must become more diverse. Different tree species with different ages in a healthy intact ecosystem - such a forest is called
"Dauerwald" - delivers the best conditions for stable and resilient forest.
"This is the forest that the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Naturgemäße Waldwirtschaft (ANW) has been propagating since 1950. Only with the beginning forest damage of the 80's and completely particularly now in the climatic change one begins to be interested in our idea increased”, so Hans von der Goltz, Federal leader of the ANW.
But where is the optimal compromise between stability and yield in the changed climatic conditions? - The ANW believes that it can develop and preserve permanent forests with its hitherto proven economic and ecological principles. But now, when everything is changing rapidly, we do not know in the last consequence.
Therefore, the ANW has launched a new project, funded by the German Ministry of Agriculture, to investigate the economic and ecological effects of different forms of permanent forest management. On 11 experimental plots throughout Germany, we want to find out, with the support of our French partner Association Futaie Irrégulière (AFI) and the German Office for Forest and Environmental Planning Arnsberg, what has to be done to achieve the optimum between ecological and silvicultural stability on the one hand and yield on the other hand in a sustainable way. The project is part of a European network of more than 120 reference stands with the same experimental design as best practice examples in different forest types.
The work of the ANW is characterized by a high degree of practical relevance. For this reason, the European Forestry Institute (EFI) has had 3 more practice areas, so-called marteloscopes, installed, where forest owners, students or foresters can immediately check with their laptops what effects their care concept has on the forest.
The forestry manager of Gut Hohenhaus, Stephan Boschen, has prepared this meeting. He confirmed: "We were very happy to set up 2 permanent observation plots and a marteloscope in our operation, because in view of the worrying forest damage situation we need new information on how we can develop our forest in a sustainable way".
Hans von der Goltz, Federal Chairman of the ANW, added optimistically: "I think we will be able to provide important information with the first results of the project, how forests can be managed more stable and nevertheless yield-oriented in the climate change".
Representatives of the individual institutions: AFI: Julien Tomasini, EFI: Andreas Schuck, Alexander Held, Forest Planning Office: Ansgar Leonhardt
Press Release ANW 29th July 2020 - Author: Hans von der Goltz, Federal Chairman of the ANW
