TY - JOUR

T1 - Ecological assessment of forest management approaches to develop resilient forests in the face of global change in Central Europe

AU - Huth, Franka

AU - Tischer, Alexander

AU - Nikolova, Petia

AU - Feldhaar, Heike

AU - Wehnert, Alexandra

AU - Hülsmann, Lisa

AU - Bauhus, Jürgen

AU - Heer, Katrin

AU - Vogt, Juliane

AU - Ammer, Christian

AU - Berger, Uta

AU - Bernhardt-Römermann, Markus

AU - Böhme, Manuela

AU - Bugmann, Harald

AU - Demant, Laura

AU - Buse, Jörn

AU - Dörfler, Inken

AU - Ewald, Jörg

AU - Feldmann, Eike

AU - Fichtner, Andreas

AU - Gossner, Martin M.

AU - Grams, Thorsten E.E.

AU - Häberle, Karl-Heinz

AU - Hagge, Jonas

AU - Hartmann, Henrik

AU - Herzog, Sven

AU - Kahmen, Ansgar

AU - Kohnle, Ulrich

AU - Krabel, Doris

AU - Krämer-Klement, Klara

AU - Kreyling, Jürgen

AU - Manthey, Michael

AU - Mellert, Karl

AU - Meyer, Peter

AU - Mölder, Andreas

AU - Muffler-Weigel, Lena

AU - Ohse, Bettina

AU - Opgenoorth, Lars

AU - Rewald, Boris

AU - Rothe, Andreas

AU - Ruehr, Nadine

AU - Scharnweber, Tobias

AU - Scherer-Lorenzen, Michael

AU - Schmeddes, Jonas

AU - Schmerbeck, Joachim

AU - Schmidt, Markus

AU - Seidel, Dominik

AU - Thomas, Frank M.

AU - Tiebel, Malin

AU - von Oheimb, Goddert

AU - Wagner, Sven

AU - Weigel, Robert

AU - Wilmking, Martin

AU - Zang, Christian

AU - Schuldt, Bernhard

PY - 2025/8

Y1 - 2025/8

N2 - The effects of global change pose major challenges for both practical forest management and forest ecological research if European forests are to be managed in such a way that they can continue to provide their many services to people in the future. The number of studies on impacts of global change on forest ecosystems has increased enormously over the last decade, but the evidence on how to improve the resilience and resistance of forests is of varying quality and in some cases contradictory. For that reason a group of experts from the Ecological Society of Germany, Austria and Switzerland (GfOe), Section Forest Ecology decided to review the relevant scientific information and to assess its degree of confidence to provide guidance for future forest adaption options. Our review of research on the impact of global change on European forests and associated forest management strategies to adapt forests identified 35 scientific statements that were grouped into the following thematic priorities: (1) selection of tree species and promoting diversity, (2) genetics, (3) forest structures, (4) forest functions, ecosystem services and nature’s contribution to the lives of people, (5) silvicultural systems, (6) natural regeneration, successional processes and wildlife management, and (7) future research and monitoring methods. Our analyses showed that most of the statements reflect validated research findings. However, many of them were incomplete and would not yet allow transfer to broad application in the form of silvicultural adaptation strategies. Future studies should focus on the identification of climate-resilient tree species and provenances, their regeneration processes and their resistance to pathogens and pests under drought conditions. Species- and site-specific scientific findings must be translated into silvicultural techniques/ measures such as the determination of tree species mixtures, thinning and harvesting intensities and tree regeneration methods. We identified significant gaps in the application of forest monitoring practices needed to obtain reliable information on the provision of ecosystem goods and services. This review provides ahensive basis to develop a roadmap for future forest adaptation research to improve our level of confidence for science-based management recommendations.

AB - The effects of global change pose major challenges for both practical forest management and forest ecological research if European forests are to be managed in such a way that they can continue to provide their many services to people in the future. The number of studies on impacts of global change on forest ecosystems has increased enormously over the last decade, but the evidence on how to improve the resilience and resistance of forests is of varying quality and in some cases contradictory. For that reason a group of experts from the Ecological Society of Germany, Austria and Switzerland (GfOe), Section Forest Ecology decided to review the relevant scientific information and to assess its degree of confidence to provide guidance for future forest adaption options. Our review of research on the impact of global change on European forests and associated forest management strategies to adapt forests identified 35 scientific statements that were grouped into the following thematic priorities: (1) selection of tree species and promoting diversity, (2) genetics, (3) forest structures, (4) forest functions, ecosystem services and nature’s contribution to the lives of people, (5) silvicultural systems, (6) natural regeneration, successional processes and wildlife management, and (7) future research and monitoring methods. Our analyses showed that most of the statements reflect validated research findings. However, many of them were incomplete and would not yet allow transfer to broad application in the form of silvicultural adaptation strategies. Future studies should focus on the identification of climate-resilient tree species and provenances, their regeneration processes and their resistance to pathogens and pests under drought conditions. Species- and site-specific scientific findings must be translated into silvicultural techniques/ measures such as the determination of tree species mixtures, thinning and harvesting intensities and tree regeneration methods. We identified significant gaps in the application of forest monitoring practices needed to obtain reliable information on the provision of ecosystem goods and services. This review provides ahensive basis to develop a roadmap for future forest adaptation research to improve our level of confidence for science-based management recommendations.

KW - Ecosystems Research

KW - tree species choice

KW - ecosystem services

KW - regeneration stages

KW - silvcultural practices

KW - forest adaptation

KW - monitoring methods

KW - tree species choice

KW - ecosystem services

KW - regeneration stages

KW - silvicultural practices

KW - forest adaptation

KW - monitoring methods

U2 - 10.1016/j.baae.2025.05.001

DO - 10.1016/j.baae.2025.05.001

M3 - Journal articles

VL - 86

SP - 66

EP - 100

JO - Basic and Applied Ecology

JF - Basic and Applied Ecology

SN - 1439-1791

ER -