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Impacts of Climate Change—Selected Papers from FowiTa German Forest Sciences Conference (Sessions 1–5)

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A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907). This special issue belongs to the section "Forest Ecology and Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 July 2017) | Viewed by 29763

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Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Marc Hanewinkel

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Guest Editor

Institute of Forestry Economics, University of Freiburg, Tennenbacherstr. 4, 79106 Freiburg, Germany
Interests: economic impacts of climate change on forests; risk management; multifunctional forest management; close-to-nature forest management; decision making under risk and uncertainty

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Climate change is still a major issue for forestry and forest sciences and has impacts on forests in a multitude of ways. The Special Issue covers all aspects of climate change on forests spanning topics from the natural sciences to social sciences and economics. It especially welcomes papers covering the following aspects:

Impacts of climate change on the species distribution of forest ecosystems;

Impacts of climate change on abiotic and biotic hazards in forests;

Economic impacts of climate change on forests;

Risk management in forestry under climate change;

Adaptation strategies to climate change for forest management;

Mitigation vs. adaptation;

Modelling of forest ecosystems under different climate change scenarios.

Prof. Dr. Marc Hanewinkel
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Forests is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

climate change impacts
adaptive forest management
climate change mitigation
abiotic/biotic hazards
risk management
climate scenarios

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 2301 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Ash Dieback on Sample Points of the National Forest Inventory in South-Western Germany

by Rasmus Enderle, Berthold Metzler, Uli Riemer and Gerald Kändler

Forests 2018, 9(1), 25; https://doi.org/10.3390/f9010025 - 12 Jan 2018

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 4543

Abstract

The alien invasive pathogen Hymenoscyphus fraxineus causes large-scale decline of European ash (Fraxinus excelsior). We assessed ash dieback in Germany and identified factors that were associated with this disease. Our assessment was based on a 2015 sampling of national forest inventory plots that represent a supra-regional area. In the time from 2012 to 2015, the number of regrown ash trees corresponded to only 42% of the number of trees that had been harvested or died. Severe defoliation was recorded for almost 40% of the living trees in 2015, and more than half of the crowns mainly consisted of epicormic shoots. Necroses were present in 24% of root collars. A total of 14% of the trees were in sound condition, which sum up to only 7% of the timber volume. On average, trees of a higher social status or with a larger diameter at breast height were healthier. Collar necroses were less prevalent at sites with a higher inclination of terrain, but there was no evidence for an influence of climatic variables on collar necroses. The disease was less severe at sites with smaller proportions of the basal area of ash compared to the total basal area of all trees and in the north-eastern part of the area of investigation. The regeneration of ash decreased drastically. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impacts of Climate Change—Selected Papers from FowiTa German Forest Sciences Conference (Sessions 1–5))

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53253 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Tree Species Site Suitability as a Combination of Occurrence Probability and Growth and Derivation of Priority Regions for Climate Change Adaptation

by Ulrike Märkel and Klara Dolos

Forests 2017, 8(6), 181; https://doi.org/10.3390/f8060181 - 24 May 2017

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 6990

Abstract

Two aspects of site suitability were combined, namely species occurrence probability and tree growth as proxies for risk and productivity, aiming to improve climate impact assessments for forests. This measure was used to identify priority regions for climate change adaptation under consideration of current stands. The six most frequent tree species according to German national forest inventory data were used considering repeated measurements. Species distribution and growth models were calculated and combined into one measure. To identify priority regions regarding current forests, we aggregated species-specific negative development of site suitability for stands where a tree species actually occurred. Suitability under climate change increased or remained unchanged for current stands of silver fir, pedunculate oak and sessile oak. European beech and Scots pine showed large area shares with negative changes, but also areas with positive changes in site suitability. For Norway spruce, suitability decreased strongly. Priority regions were concentrated in the federal states Rhineland-Palatinate, Hesse, Baden-Württemberg, Thuringia, Lower Saxony, and Saxony-Anhalt. Certainly, the workflow contained several steps, at which decisions had to be made. Although this work did not resolve all issues of site suitability modeling for climate impact on forests, it provided a more comprehensive view on tree species site suitability in biogeographical modeling. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impacts of Climate Change—Selected Papers from FowiTa German Forest Sciences Conference (Sessions 1–5))

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2447 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Drought Stress Reaction of Growth and Δ¹³C in Tree Rings of European Beech and Norway Spruce in Monospecific Versus Mixed Stands Along a Precipitation Gradient

by Cynthia Schäfer, Thorsten E. E. Grams, Thomas Rötzer, Aline Feldermann and Hans Pretzsch

Forests 2017, 8(6), 177; https://doi.org/10.3390/f8060177 - 23 May 2017

Cited by 26 | Viewed by 5232

Abstract

Tree rings include retrospective information about the relationship between climate and growth, making it possible to predict growth reaction under changing climate. Previous studies examined species-specific reactions under different environmental conditions from the perspective of tree ring growth and ¹³C discrimination (Δ¹³C). This approach is extended to monospecific versus mixed stands in the present paper. We investigated the resistance and resilience of Norway spruce (Picea abies [L.] Karst) and European beech (Fagus sylvatica [L.]) in response to the drought event in 2003. The study was carried out along a precipitation gradient in southern Germany. Responses of basal area increment (BAI) and Δ¹³C were correlated with a Climate-Vegetation-Productivity-Index (CVPI). The species showed different strategies for coping with drought stress. During the summer drought of 2003, the BAI of spruces reveal a lower resistance to drought on dry sites than those of beech. For beech, we found an increasing resistance in BAI and Δ¹³C from dry to moist sites. In mixture with spruce, beech had higher resistance and resilience for Δ¹³C with increasing site moisture. The combination of Δ¹³C and tree ring growth proxies improves our knowledge of species-specific and mixture-specific reactions to drought for sites with different moisture conditions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impacts of Climate Change—Selected Papers from FowiTa German Forest Sciences Conference (Sessions 1–5))

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1467 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Economic Feasibility of Managing Loblolly Pine Forests for Water Production under Climate Change in the Southeastern United States

by Andres Susaeta, Damian C. Adams, Carlos Gonzalez-Benecke and José R. Soto

Forests 2017, 8(3), 83; https://doi.org/10.3390/f8030083 - 16 Mar 2017

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 5141

Abstract

In this study, we assessed the impacts of climate change, forest management, and different forest productivity conditions on the water yield and profitability of loblolly pine stands in the southeastern United States. Using the 3-PG (Physiological Processes Predicting Growth) model, we determined different climatic projections and then employed a stand level economic model that incorporates, for example, prices for timber and increased water yield. We found that, under changing climatic conditions, water yield increases with thinnings and low levels of tree planting density. On average, under moderate climatic conditions, water yield increases by 584 kL·ha⁻¹ and 97 kL·ha⁻¹ for low and high productivity conditions, respectively. Under extreme climatic conditions, water yield increases by 100 kL·ha⁻¹ for low productivity conditions. Land expectation values increase by 96% ($6653.7 ha⁻¹) and 95% ($6424.1 ha⁻¹) for each climatic scenario compared to those obtained for unthinned loblolly pine plantations managed only for timber production and under current climatic conditions. The contributions of payments for increased water yield to the land values were 38% ($2530.1 ha⁻¹) and 30% ($1894.8 ha⁻¹). Results suggest that payments for water yield may be a “win-win” strategy to sustainably improve water supply and the economic conditions of forest ownership in the region. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impacts of Climate Change—Selected Papers from FowiTa German Forest Sciences Conference (Sessions 1–5))

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4012 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Modelling of Climate Conditions in Forest Vegetation Zones as a Support Tool for Forest Management Strategy in European Beech Dominated Forests

by Ivo Machar, Veronika Vlckova, Antonin Bucek, Vit Vozenilek, Lubomir Salek and Lucie Jerabkova

Forests 2017, 8(3), 82; https://doi.org/10.3390/f8030082 - 16 Mar 2017

Cited by 40 | Viewed by 7277

Abstract

The regional effects of climate change on forest ecosystems in the temperate climate zone of Europe can be modelled as shifts of forest vegetation zones in the landscape, northward and to higher elevations. This study applies a biogeographical model of climate conditions in the forest vegetation zones of the Central European landscape, in order to predict the impact of future climate change on the most widespread tree species in European deciduous forests—the European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.). The biogeographical model is supported by a suite of software applications in the GIS environment. The model outputs are defined as a set of conditions - climate scenario A1B by the Special Report on Emission Scenarios (SRES) for a forecast period, for a specified geographical area and with ecological conditions appropriate for the European beech, which provide regional scenarios for predicted future climatic conditions in the context of the European beech’s environmental requirements. These predicted changes can be graphically visualized. The results of the model scenarios for regional climate change show that in the Czech Republic from 2070 onwards, optimal growing conditions for the European beech will only exist in some parts of those areas where it currently occurs naturally. Based on these results, it is highly recommended that the national strategy for sustainable forest management in the Czech Republic be partly re-evaluated. Thus, the presented biogeographical model of climate conditions in forest vegetation zones can be applied, not only to generate regional scenarios of climate change in the landscape, but also as a support tool for the development of a sustainable forest management strategy. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impacts of Climate Change—Selected Papers from FowiTa German Forest Sciences Conference (Sessions 1–5))

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