Bilateral cooperation - Fostering the ability of native European beech and sessile oak forests in the border region against the impacts of climate change

Den Haag

2023

14 S.

Sonderdruck

13189S

40004454

Adequate adaptions and actions to combat anthropogenic climate change (CC) are significant challenges of the 21 century. In Europe, according to the European Environmental Agency, warming of around 2°C is expected under the moderate climate scenario (RCP 4.5) by the end of the century, but the pessimistic RCP 8.5 scenario project an increase of up to 6°C. In addition to the rise in temperature, changes in precipitation and increased frequency of extreme weather events are predicted. New environmental conditions affect tree species and habitats differently; thus, forest biodiversity and local tree species compositions probably will be altered in many regions in the future. The effects may be manifold: some tree species may persist, locally adapt and migrate, while others may disappear from given regions and be replaced by native or non-native species. The native forests of the Austrian-Hungarian border region are particularly affected by the climate change. To mitigate the consequences of anthropogenic climate change to preserve forest biodiversity for future generations and to enable their use, deliberate and planned human interventions and actions are essential. These require transnational or even global efforts since nature and climate do not recognise man-made borders.Keywords: assisted-migration, climate change, experimental trial, Fagus sylvatica, Provenance research, Quercus petraea