Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

How is adaptation to climate change reflected in current practice of forest management and conservation? A case study from Germany

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Biodiversity and Conservation Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Climate change is expected to challenge forest management and nature conservation in forests. Besides forest species, strategies and references for management and conservation will be affected. In this paper, we qualitatively analysed whether forest conservation and management practice have already adapted to the impacts of climate change and to what extent those practices reflect the adaptation strategies dealt with in international peer-reviewed literature. To this end, we conducted thirteen in-depth interviews with forest practitioners (forest officers/forest district officers) in four regions in Germany. The interview regions were selected to represent the variation in tree species composition, forest ownership regimes and vulnerability to climate change. Although interviewees claimed to take climate change and adaptation strategies into account, in practice such strategies have as yet only occasionally been implemented. Our results suggest that strategies for adapting forest management to climate change are just in the early stages of development or supplement existing strategies relating to general risk reduction or nature-orientated forest management. The extent to which climate change adaptation strategies have influenced overall management varies. This variation and the lack of specific strategies also reflect the existing uncertainties about future changes in climate and about the capacity of forest ecosystems to adapt. We conclude that, in the face of climate change, forest management will have a major influence on future biodiversity composition of forest ecosystems. Hence, a framework for conservation in forests providing recommendations which also take into account the consequences of climate change needs to be developed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aber J, Neilson RP, McNulty S et al (2001) Forest processes and global environmental change: predicting the effects of individual and multiple stressors. Bioscience 51(9):735–751

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Albrecht A, Schindler D, Grebhan K et al (2009) Sturmaktivität über der nordatlantisch-europäischen Region vor dem Hintergrund des Klimawandels—eine Literaturübersicht. Allg Forst Jagdztg 180(5/6):109–118

    Google Scholar 

  • Bässler C, Mueller J, Dziock F (2010) Detection of climate-sensitive zones and identification of climate change indicators: a case study from the Bavarian Forest National Park. Folia Geobotanica 45(2):163–182

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bernier P, Schoene D (2009) Adapting forests and their management to climate change: an overview. (Special issue: Adapting to climate change). Unasylva 60(231/232)

  • Bertin RI (2008) Plant phenology and distribution in relation to recent climate change. J Torrey Bot Soc 135(1):126–146

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bodin P, Wiman BLB (2007) The usefulness of stability concepts in forest management when coping with increasing climate uncertainties. For Ecol Manag 242(2–3):541–552

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bollmann K, Bergamini A, Senn-Irlet B et al (2009) Konzepte, Instrumente und Herausforderungen bei der Förderung der Biodiversität im Wald [Concepts, instruments and challenges for the conservation of biodiversity in the forest]. Schweiz Z Forstwes 160(3):53–67

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bolte A, Eisenhauer D, Ehrhart H et al (2009a) Klimawandel und Forstwirtschaft – Übereinstimmungen und Unterschiede bei der Einschätzung der Anpassungsnotwendigkeiten und Anpassungsstrategien der Bundesländer. Landbauforsch vTI Ag 59(4):269–278

    Google Scholar 

  • Bolte A, Ammer C, Lof M et al (2009b) Adaptive forest management in central Europe: climate change impacts, strategies and integrative concept. Scand J For Res 24(6):473–482

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brang P, Bugmann H, Burgi A, et al (2008) Climate change as a challenge for silviculture. (Klimawandel als Waldbauliche Herausforderung). Schweiz Z Forstwes 159(10):362–373

    Google Scholar 

  • Brett LC (2008) Desired vegetation condition and restoration goals in a changing climate: a forest, management challenge. US For Serv T R PNW 733:49–56

    Google Scholar 

  • Broadmeadow MSJ, Ray D, Samuel CJA (2005) Climate change and the future for broadleaved tree species in Britain. Forestry 78(2):145–161

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bryman A (2008) Social research methods. Oxford University Press, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Bugmann H (1999) Anthropogenic climate change, forest successional processes and forest management options (Anthropogene Klimaveränderung, Sukzessionsprozesse und forstwirtschaftliche Optionen). Schweiz Z Forstwes 150(8):275–287

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burgess PJ, Moffat AJ, Matthews RB (2010) Assessing climate change causes, risks and opportunities in forestry. Outlook Agr 39(4, Sp. Iss. SI):263–268

    Google Scholar 

  • Buse J, Niehuis M, Griebeler, EM (2011) Rising temperatures explain past immigration of the thermophilic beetle Coraebus florentinus (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) in southern Germany. Biodivers Conserv (this issue)

  • Chmura DJ, Anderson PD, Howe GT et al (2011) Forest responses to climate change in the northwestern United States: ecophysiological foundations for adaptive management. For Ecol Manag 261(7):1121–1142

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coenen D, Porzecanski I, Crisman TL (2008) Future directions in conservation and development: incorporating the reality of climate change. Biodiversity 9(3–4):106–113

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dale VH, Joyce LA, McNulty S et al (2001) Climate change and forest disturbances. Bioscience 51(9):723–734

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davis MB, Shaw RG (2001) Range shifts and adaptive responses to Quaternary climate change. Science 292(5517):673–679

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Evans AM, Perschel R (2009) A review of forestry mitigation and adaptation strategies in the Northeast U.S. Clim Change 96:167–183

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frommer B (2011) Climate change and the resilient society: utopia or realistic option for german regions? Nat Hazards 58:85–101

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gauer J, Aldinger E (2005) Waldökologische Naturräume Deutschlands. Forstliche Wuchsgebiete und Wuchsbezirke, Freiburg

    Google Scholar 

  • Gillson L, Willis KJ (2004) ‘As Earth’s testimonies tell’: wilderness conservation in a changing world. Ecol Lett 7(10):990–998

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gray ST (2011) From uncertainty to action: climate change projections and the management of large natural areas. Bioscience 61(7):504–505

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gunderson L (1999) Resilience, flexibility and adaptive management—antidotes for spurious certitude? Ecol Soc 3(1):7. http://www.consecol.org/vol3/iss1/art7/. Cited 26 Oct 2011

  • Hannah L (2008) Protected areas and climate change. Ann N Y Acad Sci 1134:201–212

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hannah L, Midgley G, Andelman S et al (2007) Protected area needs in a changing climate. Front Ecol Environ 5(3):131–138

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hansen AJ, Neilson RP, Dale VH et al (2001) Global change in forests: responses of species, communities, and biomes. Bioscience 51(9):765–779

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heller NE, Zavaleta ES (2009) Biodiversity management in the face of climate change: a review of 22 years of recommendations. Biol Conserv 142(1):14–32

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hemery GE (2008) Forest management and silvicultural responses to projected climate change impacts on European broadleaved trees and forests. Int For Rev 10(4):591–607

    Google Scholar 

  • Honnay O, Verheyen K, Butaye J et al (2002) Possible effects of habitat fragmentation and climate change on the range of forest plant species. Ecol Lett 5(4):525–530

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hossell JE, Ellis NE, Harley MJ et al (2003) Climate change and nature conservation: implications for policy and practice in Britain and Ireland. J Nat Conserv 11(1):67–73

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huntley B (1991) How plants respond to climate change migration rates individualism and the consequences for plant communities. Ann Bot Lond 67(Suppl 1):15–22

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones RN (2001) An environmental risk assessment/management framework for climate change impact assessments. Nat Hazards 23:197–230

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jones RN, Preston BL (2011) Adaptation and risk management. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews—Climate Change 2(2):296–308

  • Jump AS, Cavin L, Hunter PD (2010) Monitoring and managing responses to climate change at the retreating range edge of forest trees. J Environ Monit 12(10):1791–1798

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kirilenko AP, Sedjo RA (2007) Climate change impacts on forestry. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 104(50):19697–19702

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kölling C, Knoke T, Schall P et al (2009) Überlegungen zum Risiko des Fichtenanbaus in Deutschland vor dem Hintergrund des Klimawandels. Forstarchiv 80(2):42–54

    Google Scholar 

  • Lasch P, Lindner M, Erhard M et al (2002) Regional impact assessment on forest structure and functions under climate change—the Brandenburg case study. For Ecol Manag 162(1):73–86

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lawler J, Tear TH, Shaw RM et al (2010) Resource management in a changing and uncertain climate. Front Ecol Environ 8(1):35–43

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lindner M (1999) Waldbaustrategien im Kontext möglicher Klimaänderungen [Forest management strategies in the context of potential climate change]. Forstwiss Centralbl 118(1):1–13

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maracchi G, Sirotenko O, Bindi M (2005) Impacts of present and future climate variability on agriculture and forestry in the temperate regions: Europe. Clim Change 70(1–2):117–135

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mawdsley JR, O’Malley R, Ojima D (2009) A review of climate-change adaptation strategies for wildlife management and biodiversity conservation. Conserv Biol 23(5):1080–1089

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mayring P (2010) Qualitative inhaltsanalyse. Grundlagen und Techniken, Beltz

    Google Scholar 

  • McCarty JP (2001) Ecological consequences of recent climate change. Conserv Biol 15(2):320–331

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Milad M, Schaich H, Bürgi M et al (2011) Climate change and nature conservation in Central European forests: a review of consequences, concepts and challenges. For Ecol Manag 261:239–243

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Milad M, Schaich H, Konold W (in press) Anpassungsmaßnahmen an den Klimawandel—eine Analyse von Vorschlägen aus Forstwirtschaft und Naturschutz. Allg Forst Jagdztg

  • Millar CI, Stephenson NL, Stephens SL (2007) Climate change and forests of the future: managing in the face of uncertainty. Ecol Appl 17(8):2145–2151

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Müller J, Hothorn T, Pretzsch H (2007) Long-term effects of logging intensity on structures, birds, saproxylic beetles and wood-inhabiting fungi in stands of European beech Fagus sylvatica L. For Ecol Manag 242:297–305

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nilsson SG (2009) Selecting biodiversity indicators to set conservation targets: species, structures or processes? In: Villard A, Jonsson BG (eds) Setting conservation targets for managed forest landscapes. Conserv Biol, vol 16. Cambridge University Press, New York, pp 79–108

  • Nitschke CR, Innes JL (2006) Interactions between fire, climate change and forest biodiversity. Perspect Agric Vet Sci Nutr Nat Resour 1(60):1–9

    Google Scholar 

  • Nitschke CR, Innes JL (2008a) A tree and climate assessment tool for modelling ecosystem response to climate change. Ecol Model 210(3):263–277

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nitschke CR, Innes JL (2008b) Integrating climate change into forest management in South-Central British Columbia: an assessment of landscape vulnerability and development of a climate-smart framework. For Ecol Manag 256:313–327

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Normand S, Svenning J-, Skov F (2007) National and European perspectives on climate change sensitivity of the habitats directive characteristic plant species. J Nat Conserv 15(1):41–53

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Noss RF (2001) Beyond Kyoto: forest management in a time of rapid climate change. Conserv Biol 15(3):578–590

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ogden AE, Innes JL (2009) Application of structured decision making to an assessment of climate change vulnerabilities and adaptation options for sustainable forest management. Ecol Soc 14(1):1–29

    Google Scholar 

  • Perera AH, Buse A, Crow TR (2006) Knowledge transfer in forest landscape ecology: a primer. In: Perera AH, Buse L, Crow TR (eds) Forest landscape ecology. Transferring knowledge into practice. Springer, New York, pp 1–18

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Pregernig M (2000) Putting science into practice: the diffusion of scientific knowledge exemplified by the Austrian ‘Research initiative against forest decline’. For Policy Econ 1(2):165–176

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prendergast JR, Quinn RM, Lawton JH (1999) The gaps between theory and practice in selecting nature reserves. Conserv Biol 13(3):484–492

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rigling A, Brang P, Bugmann H et al (2008) Klimawandel als Prüfstein fur die Waldbewirtschaftung (Klimaänderung und Waldbewirtschaftung). Schweiz Z Forstwes 159(10):316–325

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roloff A, Grundmann BM (2008) Waldbaumarten und ihre Verwendung im Klimawandel. Arch Forstwes Landschaftsökol 42(3):97–109

    Google Scholar 

  • Schelhaas M-, Nabuurs G-, Schuck A (2003) Natural disturbances in the European forests in the 19th and 20th centuries. Glob Change Biol 9:1620–1633

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schiessl E, Grabner M, Golesch G et al (2010) Sub-Montane Norway spruce as alternative seed source for a changing climate? A genetic and growth analysis at the fringe of its natural range in Austria. Silva Fennica 44(4):615–627

    Google Scholar 

  • Schüler S Climate change and forest genetic resources: utilizing intraspecific variation in climate response as an adaptation option and implementing genetic conservation of forest trees at European level. Biodivers Conserv (this issue)

  • Scott D, Lemieux C (2005) Climate change and protected area policy and planning in Canada. Forest Chron 81(5):696–703

    Google Scholar 

  • Smulders MJM, Cobben MMP, Arens P, et al (2009) Landscape genetics of fragmented forests: anticipating climate change by facilitating migration. iForest—Biogeosciences and Forestry. http://www.sisef.it/iforest/pdf/Smulders_505.pdf. Cited 26 Oct 2011

  • Van Kerkhoff L, Lebel L (2006) Linking knowledge and action for sustainable development. Annu Rev Env Resour 31:445–477

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vos CC, Berry P, Opdam P et al (2008) Adapting landscapes to climate change: examples of climate-proof ecosystem networks and priority adaptation zones. J Appl Ecol 45:1722–1731

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Welch D (2008) What should protected area managers do to preserve biodiversity in the face of climate change? Biodiversity 9(3–4):75–93

    Google Scholar 

  • Wesche S, Kirby K, Ghazoul J (2006) Plant assemblages in British beech woodlands within and beyond native range: implications of future climate change for their conservation. For Ecol Manag 236(2):385–392

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wintle BA, Lindenmayer DB (2008) Adaptive risk management for certifiably sustainable forestry. For Ecol Manag 256(6):1311–1319

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zebisch M, Grothmann T, Schröter D, et al (2005) Klimawandel in Deutschland. Vulnerabilität und Anpassungsstrategien klimasensitiver Systeme; Forschungsbericht 201 41 253 UBA-FB 000844. Deutschland/Umweltbundesamt, Dessau

Download references

Acknowledgments

This study is part of the project “Forests and Climate Change” (FKZ 3508 83 0600), funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) through its Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN). We thank Emily Kilham for linguistic assistance.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Landscape Management, Faculty of Forest- and Environmental Sciences, University of Freiburg, Tennenbacherstr. 4, 79106, Freiburg, Germany

    Mirjam Milad, Harald Schaich & Werner Konold

Authors
  1. Mirjam Milad
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Harald Schaich
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Werner Konold
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mirjam Milad.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Milad, M., Schaich, H. & Konold, W. How is adaptation to climate change reflected in current practice of forest management and conservation? A case study from Germany. Biodivers Conserv 22, 1181–1202 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-012-0337-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-012-0337-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation