From fuel wood production to climate change mitigation – expected and unexpected answers from long-term forest experiments in Austria

Stockholm

2024

1230

Bandaufführung

40005596

The Austrian Research Centre for Forests (BFW) was founded in 1874 and has a long tradition in the establishment and maintenance of long-term forest experiments. At that time the experiments were mainly comprised of thinning trials in Norway spruce (Picea abies [L.] Karst.) and common beech (Fagus sylvatica [L.]) in order to study total volume production with regard to stand density. In 1892 a spacing experiment in Norway spruce was established at “Hauersteig” and measured for more than 100 years. The first results of this spacing trial were published in 1974 having a revolutionary effect on the initial spacing of newly planted stands. In 1969 the European stem number experiment was established in 14 European countries and coordinated by the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO). In Austria this experiment was observed until 2016. Finally, at the beginning of the 1990s, a set of 5 spacing trials with cloned plant material was established in Austria. All these experiments can be considered as the core experiments of the Forest Growth Unit of BFW. They are restricted to Norway spruce, which is currently the most important tree species in Austria. In total the Forest Growth Unit of BFW is currently running 67 long-term forest experiments addressing various research questions.
The above mentioned experiments were selected because they clearly reflect how research questions evolved over a time span of approximately 100 years. Furthermore, they are imposing examples of the value and benefits that long-term experiments can have for unexpected and suddenly emerging research questions. Specifically, this contribution will show (i) how the data were used for the validation of an individual-tree growth model, (ii) how the data were used for the development of biomass equations, (iii) how the data were used for economic analyses to support decision making of forest managers, (iv) how timing and severity of thinning operations determine the vulnerability of forest stands against storm and snow damage, and (v) how wide spacing afforestation as well as
thinning operations affect carbon storage and carbon sequestration of stands of Norway spruce.