Marcus Lindner , Petra Lasch, Markus Erhard

Alternative forest management strategies under climatic change – prospects for gap model applications in risk analyses

Lindner M., Lasch P., Erhard M. (2000). Alternative forest management strategies under climatic change – prospects for gap model applications in risk analyses. Silva Fennica vol. 34 no. 2 article id 634. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.634

Abstract

The projected global climate change will influence growth and productivity of natural and managed forests. Since the characteristics of the future regional climate are still uncertain and the response of our forests to changes in the atmospheric and climatic conditions may be both positive or negative, decision making in managed forests should consider the new risks and uncertainties arising from climatic change, especially if the rotation periods are long. An extended version of the forest gap model FORSKA was applied to simulate the forest development at 488 forest inventory plots in the federal state of Brandenburg, Germany, under two climate and three management scenarios. The transient growth dynamics from 1990 to 2100 were investigated at four sites in different parts of the state, representing the variability of environmental and forest conditions within Brandenburg. The alternative management strategies led to distinct differences in forest composition after 110 years of simulation. The projected climate change affected both forest productivity and species composition. The impacts of alternative management scenarios are discussed. It is concluded that the extended forest gap model can be a valuable tool to support decision making in forest management under global change.

Keywords
climate change; forest management; adaptation and mitigation strategies; forest succession model; FORSKA

Received 4 October 1999 Accepted 10 May 2000 Published 31 December 2000

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