| objective | Lin2Value- Options for an improved forest stand management in Southeastern China |
| content | China is obliged to fulfill its commitments in the international Climate Policy Arena in line with national regulations to reduce the CO2-intensity of its national economy by approx. 40% from 2005 to 2020. One approach to achieve this is the increase of wood and carbon stocks in forests aiming at the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in land-use. Sustainable Forest Management (SFM), not only increases carbon stocks, but also contributes to increased stand stability, higher timber value and enhanced biodiversity. SFM will also lower the risk that wind, pest and snow damage will contribute to release of stored carbon from forests (non-permanence). However, regulatory policies to enable large-scale implementation of SFM require some certainty over decision making processes given the long-term impacts of decisions in forest management. Hence, an integrated simulation framework is needed to better understand forest growth dynamics and its impact on carbon accumulation, forest carbon footprints (harvested wood products, HWP) and trade-offs and synergies between different management goals. In addition, interactions between different forest management regimes and risks (extreme meteorological events and human induced risks) need to be assessed which are likely to change with stand age, stand structure, species compositions as well as site conditions. The project is lead-managed by the Chair of Forest Inventory and Remote sensing of Göttingen University. Our work package will evaluate how changes of the present forest management systems, for example by converting pure conifer stands into mixed stands, modern thinning regimes or longer rotation periods would change the carbon stock of such forests. |
| term | 01.05.2012 - 30.04.2015 |
| funded by | Federal Ministry of Education and Research |
| partners | Chair of Forest Inventory and remote Sensing, Göttingen University and Chair of Silviculture Freiburg University |
| person in charge | Dr. Torsten Vor |
| publications | unavailable so far |
| objective | Tree species diversity in Chilean Forest – are naturalness and economics compatible? |
| content | The overall objective of the project ist to develop economically sound silvicultural alternatives to plantations with exotic tree species. Therefore different mixtures containing native tree species but also pure stands of exotic tree species will be compared. The effect of the different stand types on plant diversity, growth and economic rationality is of special interest. |
| term | 01.01.2012 - 31.12.2014 |
| funded by | Bauer-Stiftung zur Förderung von Wissenschaft und Forschung |
| partners | Institute of Forest Management, TU München und Facultad de Ciencias Forestales, Universidad de Concepción |
| person in charge | Dr. Steffi Heinrichs und Carolin Stiehl |
| publications | unavailable so far |
| objective | Forst dynamics after bark beetle outbreak in the Nationalpark Berchtesgaden |
| content | Forest management has been aiming to eliminate natural disturbance dynamics in forest ecosystems over the last centuries. At the same time the changes of structural and microclimatic conditions for example by storms or bark beetle infestations, have been detected as valuable hotspots of forest biodiversity. In the Berchtesgaden National Park winter storms led to subsequent bark beetle calamities on approximately 6,000 ha of forest land in the core zone of the park in 1990 and 2007. No interference by management took place. To assess the impact of the large-scale disturbances on the unmanaged forest ecosystems we investigate how the site conditions are altered by the disturbances, how vegetation and deed wood develops and how these processes influence the diversity and abundance of selected groups of species. The study plots are located in three different types of forests, namely, undisturbed but potentially susceptible spruce stands (reference), stands affected by bark beetles during the last 5 years (new disturbance) and stands being infested in the 1990th (old disturbance). Stand structure, regeneration, vascular plants and arthropods diversity are surveyed. |
| term | 01.01.2012 - 31.12.2014 |
| funded by | Berchtesgaden National Park |
| partners | Berchtesgaden National Park und Bavarian Forest National Park |
| person in charge | Maria-Barbara Winter |
| publications | unavailable so far |
| objective | Ecosystem Services of Natural Forests at Forestry and Climate Policy (FKZ 3511 84 0200) - Impacts of the cessation of material and energetic use of wood in previously managed forests on the carbon balance of the forests and the wood product sector in Germany - |
| content | The main objective of this project is to quantify the total carbon (C) balance of spatially defined forests after the cessation of material and energetic use of their wood. The model regions are located in Thuringia (Hainich, Hohe Schrecke, Biosphärenreservat Vessertal), and they are representative for most natural (mixed) beech forest sites in Germany. Basing on the resulting total C-balances we will evaluate the relevance of the cessation of wood use for climate change mitigation, and we will identify potential win-win situations and conflicts between biodiversity conservation and the ecosystem services “wood production” and “C-sequestration”. |
| term | 15.08.2011 - 31.07.2013 |
| funded by | Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) with funds of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) |
| partners | Thuringianforest, Gotha |
| person in charge | Jan Raacke |
| coordination | Dr. Martina Mund |
| publications | unavailable so far |
| objective | Options and restrictions of regenerating oak naturally – recommendations for pratical forestry and nature conservation management |
| content | This project aims at quantifying the shade tolerance of oak which may vary by site conditions. Also other abiotic and biotic factors which may influence successful oak regeneration will be analysed. The results of the study should support operative decisions. Furthermore it should suggest ways to keep a considerable amount of oak where this species contributes to a high nature conservation value. |
| term | 01.03.2011 - 28.02.2014 |
| funded by | Bavarian state department for food, agriculture and forestry |
| partners | Bavarian State forest Company, Bureau of food, agriculture and forestry Uffenheim |
| person in charge | Dr. Torsten Vor |
| publications | unavailable so far |
| objective | The effect of forest management and neighborhood diversity on seasonal tree growth responses |
| content | The purpose of this research is therefore (1) to explain the growth response of selected trees on different time scales (day to year) as a function of their neighborhood (which is strongly related to management intensity); (2) to reveal the impact of neighborhood density and species composition on individual tree growth (measured by self-acting dendrometers) and (3) to explain the revealed growth pattern by using growth related plant traits, especially stabile isotope ratios, nitrogen concentrations and SLA and morphological characteristics such as branch remification. The idea of this proposal therefore is not only to detect different patterns of growth-neighborhood-responses by analyzing tree growth measurements originating from daily to yearly growth data, but also to relate these different growth patterns to different ecophysiological characteristics and strategies. |
| term | 01.03.2011 - 28.02.2014 |
| funded by | Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Science Foundation) |
| partners | Max-Planck- Institute for Biogeochemistry Jena |
| person in charge | Jérôme Metz |
| publications | unavailable so far |
| objective | Use of terrestrial laserscanning for the estimation of wooden biomass in small timber stands |
| content | The project aims at algorithms for the automated estimation of stem and branch biomass of selected tree and shrub species by terrestrial laserscanning. |
| term | 01.09.2010 - 31.08.2013 |
| funded by | Federal Ministry of Education and Research |
| partners | Forest Ecosystems Research Center |
| person in charge | Dominik Seidel |
| publications | Seidel D, Albert K, Fehrmann F, Ammer C (2012) The potential of terrestrial laser scanning for the estimation of understory biomass in coppice-with-standard systems. Biomass and Bioenergy 47: 20-25 |
| objective | Use potential of coppice, coppice with standards and high forests for energy wood production |
| content | Based on several stands the use potential coppice, coppice with standards and high forests for energy wood production is investigated. The effect of the three silvicultural systems on nutrient cycling will be tested. Furthermore, economic considerations under different scenarios will be part of the evaluation. |
| term | 01.09.2010 - 31.10.2013 |
| funded by | Federal Ministry of Education and Research |
| partners | Forest Ecosystems Research Center |
| person in charge | Katja Albert |
| publications | Albert K, Ammer C (2012): Biomasseproduktivität ausgewählter europäischer Mittel- und Niederwaldbestände - Ergebnisse einer vergleichenden Metaanalyse. Allgemeine Forst-und Jagdzeitung 183: 225-237 |
| objective | Growth of European beech and Norway spruce seedlings along a light and draught gradient |
| content | European beech and Norway spruce seedlings are selected along a light gradient. Some seedlings are exposed to artificially induced draught. The response of the seedlings in growth and plant traits such as SLA and δ13 C will be investigated |
| term | 01.07.2010 - 31.05.2013 |
| funded by | Ministry of Science and Culture of Lower Saxony |
| partners | Lower Saxony State Forest |
| person in charge | Christina Lödige |
| publications | unavailable so far |
| objective | The impact of tree species diversity on tree growth and herb-layer diversity – ecological studies and management implications at the biosphere reserve Valle del Ticino |
| content | The project focuses on the understanding of the effects of tree species diversity on intertree competition and growth and the diversity of the herb-layer. The role of neophytes within the interplay of overstorey trees and ground vegetation and the seed bank in the soil is of special interest. The experimental area (biosphere reserve Valle del Ticino) is one of the rare riparian forests throughout Europe with an considerable amount of native and non-native tree species. The study focuses on the effects of small scaled stand structure and species composition on tree growth and stand dynamics. The study comprises field surveys, dendrochronological approaches using stem cores and pot experiments under controlled conditions. |
| term | 01.01.2010 - 31.05.2013 |
| funded by | Marianne und Dr. Fritz Walter Fischer-Stiftung |
| partners | Professorship for Environment and Applied Botany, Free University of Bozen - Bolzano |
| person in charge | Kawaletz, Heike and Annighöfer, Peter |
| coordination | Dr. Inga Mölder |
| publications | Kawaletz H, Mölder I, Zerbe S, Annighöfer P, Terwei A, Ammer C (2013) Exotic tree seedlings are much more competitive than natives but show underyielding when growing together. Journal of Plant Ecology doi: 10.1093/jpe/rts044 Annighöfer P, Mölder I, Zerbe S, Kawaletz H, Terwei A, Ammer C (2012) Biomass functions for the two alien tree species Prunus serotina Ehrh. and Robinia pseudoacacia L. in floodplain forests of Northern Italy. European Journal of Forest Research 131: 1619-1635, DOI: 10.1007/s10342-012-0629-2 Annighöfer P, Schall P, Kawaletz H, Mölder I, Terwei A, Zerbe S, Ammer C (2012) Vegetative growth response of black cherry (Prunus serotina) to different mechanical control methods in a biosphere reserve. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 42: (12), 2037 - 2051, DOI: 10.1139/cjfr-2012-0257 |
| objective | Can thinnings improve the drought tolerance of Norway spruce? |
| content | The effect of different thinning regimes on transpiration and growth of target trees are studied on an experimental site in Southern Bavaria near Landshut. The experiment includes sapflow measurements and a survey of soil hydrology as well as measurements on above and belowground biomass. |
| term | 01.01.2008 - 31.12.2014 |
| funded by | Bavarian state department for food, agriculture and forestry |
| partners | Chair of plant ecopysiology , TU München and Bavarian Forest Institute (LWF) |
| person in charge | Timo Gebhardt |
| publications | Gebhardt T, Schulz C, Matyssek R, Ammer C (2010) Die Fichte im Zeichen des Klimawandels - Beugen Durchforstungseingriffe Trockenschäden vor? Forstarchiv 81: 86-87 Gebhardt T, Grams T, Häberle K-H, Matyssek R, Schulz C, Grimmeisen W, Ammer C (2012) Helfen Durchforstungen bei Trockenheit? Erste Ergebnisse eines Versuchs zur Verbesserung der Wasserversorgung junger Fichtenbestände. LWF aktuell 87: 8-10 |
| objective | Fascilitation of rare tree species |
| content | The project suggests how rare tree species could be favored during forest management. Various factors such as ownership, site quality, autecology of the species, control of ungulate density and costs are taken into account. |
| term | 01.08.2009 - 31.07.2012 |
| funded by | Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt (DBU) |
| partners | Department of Forest Zoology and Forest Conservation, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen |
| person in charge | Dr. Torsten Vor |
| publications | Ammer C, Vor T (2013) Verlust von Mischbaumarten durch Wildverbiss in Buchenwäldern. Allgemeine Forstzeitschrift/Der Wald 68 (1): 9-11 |
| objective | Interactions between light and soil moisture on growth and biomass partitioning of European beech and Norway spruce seedlings |
| content | In a greenhouse experiment seedlings of European beech and Norway spruce were exposed to different light (3 levels) and soil moisture (2 levels) over three years. Measurements were carried out to detect growth responses and biomass partitioning in relation to resource availability. |
| term | Finished (01.01.2006 - 31.12.2008) |
| funded by | Bavarian state department for food, agriculture and forestry and Research Institute of Forest Ecology and Forestry (Rhineland-Palatinate) |
| partners | University of applied sciences Weihenstephan-Triesdorf, Institute of horticulture |
| person in charge | Christian Ammer |
| publications | Schall P, Lödige C, Beck M, Ammer C (2012) Biomass allocation to roots and shoots is more sensitive to shade and drought in European beech than in Norway spruce seedlings. Forest Ecology and Management 266: 246-253 |
Research
