PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
The changing climate makes it necessary to reform the prevalent economic model of forest management and to modify the species, spatial, and age composition of forest stands to ensure their stability, to promote sustainable forestry, and to create conditions that allow forest stands to provide indispensable ecosystem services. The changes in temperatures and precipitation predicted to occur in Europe will change the moisture available in soil and, consequently, the growth and health of forest stands. For forest management, the greatest threat is long-lasting intensive drought, which has a primary damaging effect followed by secondary damage, particularly from under-bark insects. The extremely dry years 2003 and 2015 resulted in a major weakening of spruce forest stands, accompanied by a significant increase in bark beetle populations, particularly in areas with monocultures of even-aged spruce forest stands. An area of around 22 600 ha in the Brdy Protected Landscape Area, in Central Bohemia (Czechia), targeted by the project is endangered by increasing bark beetle populations because Norway spruce is present on 74.3% of the territory. Climate change combined with other harmful abiotic and biotic factors is therefore causing, and will continue to cause, forest stand atrophy and dieback. The most appropriate solution identified is a shift to close-to-nature management, using the principles of small-scale clearcutting, shelterbelt, and selection management principles. The aim is to achieve a structural balance, by means of alternating trees or tree groupings and mixing pre-dominant, dominant, and co-dominant trees, differentiated in regard to thickness and age. Atrophying even-aged monocultures also exist throughout Europe and furthermore, adapting forests to climate change does not constitute a one-time intervention; it will be a long-term transformation process. For that reason, the project will pay close attention to the transfer of outcomes.
OBJECTIVES
The main objective of the LIFE Adapt Brdy project is to adapt forest stands in the territory of the Brdy Highland (a former military area) in Czechia to climate change, to increase their ability to resist biotic and abiotic factors, and to replicate good practices of close-to-nature management in other sites in Central Europe.
The project is closely related to the EU Strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change and the EU Forest Strategy for 2030.
RESULTS
Expected results:
- Introduction of close-to-nature management throughout the Brdy Highland, on 22 600 ha to reduce the vulnerability of forest stands to climate change, with selection management principles introduced in 10 demonstration plots on a total of 500 ha.
- Increased area of natural forest regeneration by at least four times, from 50 ha/year to at least 200 ha of natural regeneration per year. At least three tree species will account for a share higher than 20% on the demonstration plots, and the damage to trees caused by game will be reduced from the current 36% to 20% by intensive hunting.
- Shared good practice and replicated outputs in the Central European region, to other forest institutions in Czechia or other countries with similar climatic conditions. The target is to replicate good practice on other areas on 20 000 ha of VLS estates. At least 500 foresters from Central Europe (Czechia, Slovakia, and Poland) will be trained in principles of close-to-nature management.
- Enhanced public awareness of the impact of climate change on forests and available solutions.
