FORKAST

BAVARIAN RESEARCH ASSOCIATION "CLIMATIC IMPACTS ON ECOSYSTEMS AND CLIMATIC ADAPTATION STRATEGIES"

TP14 Impacts of extreme climatic events on disturbance regimes in mountain forests

Climate change may cause a higher frequency of existing and new disturbance regimes in mountain forests. This potentially alters ecosystem properties and processes that influence the ecological and economical value of forests. To be able to adapt to future conditions with respect to climate change it is indispensable to better understand the influence of disturbances on forests as well as the interactions between those disturbances. In this study, we consider disturbances that are directly linked to climatic extreme events, e.g. windthrow and drought, and disturbances favoured by changed climatic conditions, e.g. forest fires and bark beetle outbreaks. The objective of this study is an improved understanding of

• spruce beetles outbreak dynamics dependent on environmental conditions,
• interactions of forest disturbances, particularly with respect to bark beetle dynamics,the impact of changes in mortality characteristics on forest species composition and structure, and
• the long term impact of a climate change and alterations in the disturbance regimes on exemplary ecosystem services.

Ultimately, the results of this project are meant to improve the knowledge base on which forestry and conservation managers make their decisions, especially with respect to spruce beetle outbreaks and climate change in the case study region Bavaria.

Grant-aided by:
Bavarian State Ministry for Science, Research and Arts