“Plattform klimafitter Wald” - Preparing forest owners for climate change

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The project “Plattform klimafitter Wald” – climate smart forests is an Austrian initiative with the goal of helping forest owners, especially new ones and the ones that do not live close to their forests, to prepare for climate change and make their forest management more climate friendly. The project started in 2019 and is a cooperation of BFW, Klimabündnis Österreich, ISS – Integrated Sustainability Solutions and the Chamber of Agriculture Styria. The focus lies on establishing our website www.klimafitterwald.at as a central platform for forest owners with information on climate change & adaptations, forestry techniques & law and support & funds, as well as on suitable trees for the future. Two key features on the website are the “Beratersuche”, where you can search for consultants in your area, and the “Baumartenampel” – a GIS application where you can see which tree species are suitable for your location in the future climate. This climate-based information will also be available in a printed version, tailored to each of the nine Austrian forest growing areas, which can be handed out to forest owners, disseminators and municipalities. A key question for many forest owners is: “Which tree species are and will be suitable for my forest?” This is linked to topics of natural rejuvenation & planting, planting techniques & costs, plant provenances and native & non-native tree species on which the project “Plattform klimafitter Wald” provides information, helping forest owners to make decisions based on the future climate, rather than on the current timber market.
Keywords: Climate Smart Forests, Knowledge Transfer