Various scenario calculations show that climate and other environmental changes significantly affect the ecosystems of Alpine forests, and the composition of native trees and animal species. Their distribution and silvicultural use depend on the national forest regulations and strategies. But above all, it is up to the decision of private forest owners or managers of national state forests how they make use of the non-native tree species (NNT) to adapt the
Alpine Forests to the consequences of climate change. They have the operational capacity to raise awareness of adaptation needs among actors in the timber value chains, to supply markets with timber products and for maintaining the traditional business models, typical of rural and socio-economically marginal mountain areas.
Although NNT products are already widely used in Europe, they have not received attention in the New EU Forestry Strategy agenda. Accordingly, the ALPTREES project has the merit of promoting the added value of NNTs for Europe´s forests and related value chains. The authors also open the debate on the existing and potential markets of NNT assortments and create more confidence in their current and future use. The document can be seen as a first attempt to raise awareness among customers and decision makers about the use of NNT wood. In a compact format, the report summarizes the practical scientific findings on the most important NNT species for the timber market. The report also provides a preliminary outlook on the economic value of NNTs wood products along the timber value chains of some Alpine countries. Furthermore, it illustrates in a simple and intuitive way some valuable experiences made by companies active in the Alpine Space. Actors of the forest-wood value chains have the opportunity to share knowledge as well as experiences among communities in rural and metropolitan areas within the Alpine Space. Students, freelancers and companies can find ideas and inspiration for the design and development of products made from NNT wood in sawmills, timber processing plants, carpentry, joinery, furniture factories and engineering offices. Bringing together these types of skills and value chains’ actors is fundamental to achieving sustainable rural and urban areas and enhancing the dialogue between sustainable forest and timber value chains and sustainable cities. Survey of literature and secondary data; Survey on wood submissions in the Alpine Space; Tree profiles regarding use value; Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii); Red oak (Quercus rubra); Weymouth pine (Pinus strobus); Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia); Sequoia trees (Sequoia spp., representative for subfamily Sequoioideae); Poplar hybrids (summarised under Populus spp.); Plane trees, sycamore trees (Platanus spp.); Cedar trees (Thuja spp.); Horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum); Cypress trees (Cupressus spp.); Hickory trees (Carya spp.); Tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima); Lawson cypress (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana); Honey locust (Gleditsia triacanthos); Amerikanische Gleditschie; American tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera); Mulberry (Morus nigra and Morus alba summarised under Morus spp.); Princess tree (Paulownia tomentosa); Black pine (Pinus nigra); Economic evaluation of the current use of NNT in the Alpine region; Sawnwood; Wood fuels; Current and potential future use cases for selected NNTs with regional relevance;
