Abstract
In Germany, there are increasing public demands, in particular from conservation groups, to increase carbon storage in stocking tree biomass of forest as a measure of climate change mitigation. At the same time, there is a strong demand to increase the diversity and ecological complexity of forests to adapt them to the consequences of climate change (e.g. increase in storm vulnerability). Albeit, provisioning of forest ecosystem goods and services (e.g. timber, maintenance of wildlife habitat, recreation, generating renewable energy from forest-biomass etc.) to fulfill multiple societal needs should be continued. As these multiple goals are not always compatible, they may even result in conflicts and trade-offs. This proposed study will therefore assess in a quantitative approach whether significant trade-offs exist between the above options to manage German forests for mitigation and adaptation under climate change. The study will analyze long-term forest inventory data as well as data from long-term forest growth monitoring experiments. The project specifically aims to assess whether further increasing the carbon stocks in German forests may result in reduced tree species diversity and ecological complexity and thus pose a threat to adaptation goals. In addition, whether storm damage risks in forests are positively related to increase level of carbon stocks over time will be quantified. The expected results will help policy makers and forest managers to develop appropriate strategies to maintain the multiple functions of forests in the face of climate change.
