Does fragmentation contribute to the forest crisis in Germany?

Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

Authors

Intact forests contribute to the ecosystem functionality of landscapes by storing and sequestering carbon, buffering and cooling the microclimate, and providing a range of related ecosystem functions. Forest fragmentation not only poses a threat to many organisms but also reduces the resistance and resilience of the ecosystem, which is especially relevant to the ongoing climate crisis. The effects of recent extreme heat years on forests in Germany have not been studied in detail for the influence of fragmentation. We investigate the relation of forest fragmentation with temperature and vitality in Germany per ecoregion at the canopy level using satellite imagery at 1-km and 30-m resolution. We compiled and correlated forest maps for connectivity based on Thiessen polygons, canopy temperatures on the hottest days based on land surface temperature, and forest vitality based on the maximum normalized difference vegetation index per growing season. We differentiated between ecoregions and main forest types. In 2022, larger intact tree-covered areas that are less fragmented have relatively low temperatures on hot days and higher overall vitality. Nearly 98% of the almost 1.95 million forest fragments at 30-m resolution in Germany are smaller than 1 km2, which cover nearly 30% of the total forest area. To counteract the forest crisis, forest and landscape management should aim to reduce fragmentation and maintain tree biomass and forest cover in the landscape. Increasing the size of continuous forest fragments contributes to ecosystem-based adaptation to climate change.

Original languageEnglish
Article number1099460
JournalFrontiers in Forests and Global Change
Volume6
Number of pages12
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 20.01.2023
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2023 Mann, Gohr, Blumröder and Ibisch.

    Research areas

  • forest cover, forest fragmentation, land surface temperature (LST), normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), Thiessen connectivity

Recently viewed

Publications

  1. Different ways lead to ambidexterity
  2. Sufficiency as a "Strategy of the Enough": Curbing ecological crises and injustices.
  3. Web-based occupational stress prevention in German micro- and small-sized enterprises – process evaluation results of an implementation study
  4. I'm lonely, can't you tell?
  5. Dry high speed milling as a new machining technology of ceramics for biomedical and other applications
  6. To the unknown reader: Constructing absent readership in the eighteenth-century novel: Fielding, Sterne and Richardson
  7. Patterns of entrepreneurial career development
  8. Evidence-based policy-making?
  9. Does managed care reduce health care expenditure? Evidence from spatial panel data
  10. Polarisierung der Einkommen von Selbständigen?
  11. Lean Social Media Communication Strategies for SMEs
  12. Elevator as a mediating technology of organization
  13. Carbon fluxes within tree-crop-grass agroforestry system
  14. Reversing a tree regeneration crisis in an endangered ecoregion
  15. Efficient Production of Nanoparticle Reinforced Magnesium Matrix Composites by High-Shear Stir Casting and Hot Extrusion
  16. The Rhythm Method
  17. Dialogue on Writing
  18. Molnar, Paul D.: Thomas F. Torrance – Theologian of the Trinity. Farnham: Ashgate 2009
  19. A Cultural Task Analysis of Implicit Independence
  20. Performance Saga: Interview 04
  21. Laser in situ keratomileusis
  22. Which attributes of audit committees are most beneficial for European companies?
  23. Anti-Fascist Exile, Political Print Media, and the Variable Tactics of the Communists in Mexico (1939–1946)
  24. To assess progress in the social sciences, we should study knowledge cumulation, not disruptiveness
  25. Fragmented Landscape, Fragmented Knowledge
  26. Corrosion behaviour of magnesium alloys with RE additions in sodium chloride solutions
  27. Self-determined or non-self-determined? Exploring consumer motivation for sustainable food choices
  28. Experimental and numerical investigation of laser beam-welded Al-Cu-Li joints using micro-mechanical characteristics
  29. The Future of Scattered Trees in Agricultural Landscapes
  30. Long-term effects of historical heathland farming on soil properties of forest ecosystems