The German Forest Strategy 2020: Target achievement control using National Forest Inventory results

Authors

  • Martin Lorenz Thuenen Institute of International Forestry and Forest Economics Leuschnerstr. 91, D-21031 Hamburg, Germany
  • Hermann Englert Thuenen Institute of International Forestry and Forest Economics Leuschnerstr. 91, D-21031 Hamburg, Germany
  • Matthias Dieter Thuenen Institute of International Forestry and Forest Economics Leuschnerstr. 91, D-21031 Hamburg, Germany

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15287/afr.2018.1185

Keywords:

forest strategy, forest inventory, forest ecosystem services, biodiversity, wood production, carbon sequestration

Abstract

In the year 2011 the German Federal Government adopted its Forest Strategy 2020. This strategy includes 60 goal formulations in nine action fields. The present paper analyses to which extent the results of the German National Forest Inventory (BWI) prove achievements of those of the 60 goals, which are quantitatively verifiable. The results reveal that forestry in Germany in general meets its own standard of multi-functionality, securing that forests fulfil manifold demands of the society. However, while the objectives of nature and climate protection are on track for being achieved, the prospects for objectives related to employment, income and value added are less encouraging. Total forest area and forest growth are increasing, forests currently constitute a carbon sink, and the naturalness and structural diversity of forests are growing. Also the high but sustainable use of the wood fosters currently the income of and employment in forest enterprises and timber industries. But the ongoing regeneration of forest stands predominantly with deciduous tree species is expected to cause a long-term lack of faster growing and higher valuated coniferous stands. The resulting lack of highly demanded softwood of small or medium-sized diameters will raise problems to timber industries. Moreover, shrinking timber production due to a decreasing share of coniferous forests has adverse consequences not only from the economic point of view. It will also decrease the climate-friendly use of wood products, in particular due to the foregone substitution effect. The results of the study also show that BWI is an indispensable source of information for forest politics and forest science particularly in view of its long-term time series. The preservations of time series must be kept in mind whenever changes in the methods of BWI are considered.

References

Bauhus J, Bartsch N, 1995: Mechanisms of carbon and nutrient release and retention within beech forest gaps. I. Microclimate, water balance and seepage water chemistry. Plant and Soil 168-169, 579-584. DOI: 10.1007/BF00029371 BMEL, 2014: The Forests in Germany – Selected Results of the Third National Forest Inventory. Bundesministerium für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft, Berlin, 56 p. BMEL, 2016: Wald und Rohholzpotenzial der nächsten 40 Jahre. Ausgewählte Ergebnisse der Waldentwicklungs- und Holzaufkommensmodellierung 2013 bis 2052. Bundesministerium für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft, Berlin, 64 p. BMELV (2005): Die zweite Bundeswaldinventur – BWI2. Der Inventurbericht. Technical Report. Editor: Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection, Berlin. BMELV, 2011: Forest Strategy 2020 – Sustainable Forest Management – An opportunity and a challenge for society. Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection, Bonn, 35 p. BMU, 2007: Nationale Strategie zur biologischen Vielfalt. Bundesministerium für Umwelt, Naturschutz und Reaktorsicherheit, Berlin, 178 S. Christophel D, Spengler S, Schmidt B, Ewald J, Prietzel J, 2013: Customary selective harvesting has considerably decreased organic carbon and nitrogen stocks in forest soils of the Bavarian Limestone Alps. Forest Ecology and Management 305: 167-176. DOI: 10.1016/j.foreco.2013.05.054 Covington W W, 1981: Changes in the forest floor organic matter and nutrient content following clear cutting in northern hardwoods. Ecology 62:41–8. DOI: 10.2307/1936666 Dolman A J, Valentini R, Freibauer A. 2013: The continental-scale greenhouse gas balance of Europe. Springer. Elsasser P, Englert H, Hamilton J, Müller H A, 2010: Nachhaltige Entwicklung von Waldlandschaften im Nordostdeutschen Tiefland: Ökonomische und sozioökonomische Bewertungen von simulierten Szenarien der Landschaftsdynamik [Sustainable development of forested landscapes in the lowlands of North Eastern Germany: Economic valuation of simulated scenarios of landscape dynamics]. Hamburg: von-Thünen-Institut. Arbeitsbericht vTI-OEF 2010/1, 96 p. FAO, 2009: State of the World's Forests. United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, Rome, 168 p. FAO, 2010: Global forest resources assessment 2010, Main report, FAO Forestry Paper 163, United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation, Rome, 340 p. Forest Europe, UNECE and FAO, 2015: State of Europe's Forests 2015. FOREST EUROPE Liaison Unit Madrid, Spain. Grossiord C, Granier A, Ratcliffe S, Bouriaud O, Bruelheide H, Chećko E, Forrester D I, Dawud S M, Finér L, Pollastrini M, Scherer-Lorenzen M, Valladares F, Bonan D, Gessler A, 2014: Tree diversity does not always improve resistance of forest ecosystems to drought. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 111(41), 14812-14815. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1411970111 ITTO, 2015: Voluntary guidelines for the sustainable management of natural tropical forests. ITTO Policy Development Series No. 20. International Tropical Timber Organization, Yokohama, Japan. Jerabkova L, Prescott C E, Titus B D, Hope G D, Walters M B, 2011: A meta-analysis of the effects of clearcut and variable-retention harvesting on soil nitrogen fluxes in boreal and temperate forests. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 41: 1852–1870. DOI: 10.1139/x11-087 Knauf M, Frühwald A, Köhl M, 2013. Beitrag des NRW Clusters ForstHolz zum Klimaschutz. Landesbetrieb Wald und Holz Nordrhein-Westfalen, Münster, 200 S. Kohlpaintner M, Huber C, Weis W, Göttlein A, 2009: Spatial and temporal variability of nitrate concentration in seepage water under a mature Norway spruce [Picea abies (L.) Karst] stand before and after clear cut. Plant and Soil 314: 285-301. DOI: 10.1007/s11104-008-9729-7 Lorenz M, Bahamondez C, Brack C, Clarke M, Gillis M, Hirvonen H, Kleinn C, Riebau A, Sase H, Totsuka T, Varjo J, 2005: Forest assessment for changing information needs, In: Mery, G.; Alfaro, R.; Kanninen, M.; Lobovikov, M. (Hrsg.): Forests in the global balance – changing paradigms, IUFRO World Series Volume 17, Helsinki, 318 S. Meier E, 2014: Nachhaltigkeitsbewertung - Logical Framework-Ansatz zur kontextbezogenen Operationalisierung von Nachhaltigkeit auf Basis gesellschaftlicher Nachhaltigkeitskonzepte. Hamburg: Univ Hamburg, Fachber Biologie, 263 p, Hamburg, Univ, Diss, 2014. Mellert K-H, Kölling C, Rehfuess K E, 1998: Vegetationsentwicklung und Nitrataustrag auf 13 Sturmkahlflächen in Bayern. Forstarchiv 69: 3-11 The Montréal Process, 2015: Criteria and Indicators for the Conservation and Sustainable Management of Temperate and Boreal Forests. Québec City, Canada. Polley H, Kroiher F, 2006: Struktur und regionale Verteilung des Holzvorrates und des potenziellen Rohholzaufkommens in Deutschland im Rahmen der Clusterstudie Forst- und Holzwirtschaft. Arbeitsbericht des Institutes für Waldökologie und Waldinventuren 2006/3. Eberswalde: Bundesforschungsanstalt für Forst- und Holzwirtschaft. Polley H, Hennig P, Schwitzgebel F, Dunger K, 2004: Die Bundeswaldinventur an der strategischen Schnittstelle zwischen Forst- und Holzwirtschaft. BFH-Nachrichten Hamburg 42(4): 36-37. Riedel T, Hennig P, Kroiher F, Polley H, Schmitz F, Schwitzgebel F, 2017: Die dritte Bundeswaldinventur (BWI 2012). Inventur- und Auswertungsmethoden. Johann Heinrich von Thünen-Institut. Braunschweig. 124 S. Rock J, Gerber K, Klatt S, Oehmichen K, 2016: Das WEHAM 2012 "Basisszenario": Mittellinie oder Leitplanke? The WEHAM 2012 "Baseline scenario": Center line or guardrail? Forstarchiv 87: 66-99. Rüter S, Rock J, Köthke M, Dieter M, 2011: Wie viel Holznutzung ist gut fürs Klima? Die CO2-Bilanzen unterschiedlicher Nutzungsszenarien 2013-2020. In: AFZ-DerWald (66. Jahrgang) Heft 15, S. 19-21. München: Deutscher Landwirtschaftsverlag Tomppo E, Gschwantner T, Lawrence M, McRoberts RE (eds) 2010: National Forest Inventories - Pathways for common reporting. Springer Netherlands, Dordrecht. DOI: 10.1007/978-90-481-3233-1 UBA, 2014: Nationaler Inventarbericht Deutschland -2014. Umweltbundesamt, Berlin, Nr. 24/2014. UNFCCC, 2009: United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Web: http://unfccc.int/657 2860.php. Accessed 10 September 2015. Vidal C, Alberdi I, Redmond J, Vestman M, Lanz A, Schadauer K, 2016: The role of European National Forest Inventories for international forestry reporting. Annals of Forest Science 73:793-806. DOI: 10.1007/s13595-016-0545-6 Vjtousek P M, Melillo J M, 1979: Nitrate losses from disturbed forests: Patterns and mechanism. Forest Sci. 25, 605-619. Wellbrock N, Grüneberg E, Stümer W, Rüter S, Ziche D, Dunger K, Bolte A, 2014: Wälder in Deutschland speichern Kohlenstoff. AFZ-DerWald (69. Jahrgang) Heft 18, S.38-39. München: Deutscher Landwirtschaftsverlag. Yanai R D, Currie W S, Goodale C L, 2003: Soil carbon dynamics after forest harvest: an ecosystem paradigm reconsidered. Ecosystems, 6: 197-212. DOI: 10.1007/s10021-002-0206-5

Downloads

Published

2018-12-31

Issue

Section

Research article / INCDS85