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Description
The aim of the project is to create an adaptation strategy focused on forest management for Mendel University in Brno. An adaptation strategy will be created for the so-called special purpose forests, which are suitable for testing new technologies and innovative practices. Adaptation to climate change is the main challenge for forestry in Central Europe in 21st Century. Current bad health state of forests in the Czech Republic invokes production losses and increases uncertainty of forest owners, regardless of negative impacts on environment. Conventional approaches of silviculture and forest management based on the model of clear-cuts, even-aged stands and balanced age class distribution has become out-dated during the last 20 years. Alternative forest management adaptation practices have been utilized sparsely so far. The main general adaptation measure is to increase resistance and resilience of forests, increase species, age and spatial diversity in a long term.
Summary of project results
Forests are a key component in environmental protection – influencing the microclimate, sequestering carbon, retaining water, a source of wood, etc. The forest property of Školní lesní podnik Masarykův les Křtiny extends over an area of over 100 km2 and is adjacent to the agglomerations of Brno and Blansko. The most abundant wood here are beech, spruce and oak. Our goal is to increase the share of deciduous trees in the future, especially beech, linden and oak. These forests have a multifunctional mission. It is primarily used for university teaching and research, but also fulfills other functions - economic, ecological, water management and also increasingly recreational. The main goal of the owner and at the same time the public is to preserve the fulfillment of all functions of forests in the future. With regard to the climate change at work, we have therefore developed a comprehensive strategy and proposed measures to adapt forests to this change.
Among the expected impacts of climate change on our forests are a reduction in overall ecological stability, greater damage to forests during fires or storms, the spread of invasive species, the breakdown of spruce (coniferous) stands that are sensitive to drought, a higher economic demand for forest restoration or a reduction in the non-productive functions of the forest. The survey showed that more than 90% of respondents see the issue of forest damage as a result of climate change as a serious problem that needs to be solved. As part of the survey, a question was also asked about what manifestations of climate change the respondents noticed in our forests. Among those reported were, for example, drying up of springs, withering of trees, calamities caused by pests or soil erosion.
Among the measures that we would like to implement in the future on the basis of the developed adaptation strategy are, for example, the revitalization of water features in the form of the Kubelín pool or the Zaječí stream, optimization of the network of approach roads, training of foresters in the field of a new type of management, development of forest pedagogy, renewal of the visitor network, which will educate visitors in the field of climate change, or support further research and cooperation in the field of forest ecosystem protection. We will gradually start implementing the proposed measures in the forests through a forest management plan, but the changes will be felt in the long term as the forest takes decades to grow.