Trade-offs between climate change adaption and mitigation objectives for forests in south-western Germany

Alfeld

2016

S. 60-61

Artikel aus einer ZeitschriftUnselbständiges Werk

200199422

This is the first study for German forests that quantified trade-offs between goals to increase biomass and to adapt forest to climate change. Our preliminary analysis showed that achievements in relation to multiple objectives may not overlap and are related to the composition of forests. Moreover, achiebvements from multiple objectives are further altered by different levels of harvesting intensities. In most situation, species diversity and structural diversity habe a positive affect on achievements in relation to increasing biomass stocks. Thus high biomass stocks do not appear to impede, at least at this stage, achiements towards adapting forest to climate change, which is relected in strucutral and compositional diversity of forests.
German forests currently have historically high carbon stocks (Forest Europe 2015). Yet, there have been strong demands to store more carbon in forests from government and non-governmental organizations. At the same time, it is generally agreed that the species and structural diversity of forests should be increased to improve their resistance, resilience and adaptability in the face of climate change. This should help to maintain native biodiversity and provision of goods and services (e.g. timber, biomass as source of renewable energy) from forests. However, these different goals, mitigation of climate change through forests and adaptation of forests to climate change, may not always be compatible. Important trade-offs may exist, if the conditions that maximize carbon stores or sequestration do not support high levels of species and structural diversity (D’Amato et al. 2011). However, such trade-offs have never been quantified for German forests. Here we aim to quantify trade-offs between climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies for forests in Baden- Württemberg, Germany. More specifically, we want to study how increasing biomass stocks are related to tree species diversity, structural diversity, stand density, tree size and harvesting intensity.