Lesedauer ca. 2 Minuten Study: Intact primal forests are the key to mitigating climate change, limiting biodiversity loss and achieving many of the UN’s sustainability goals. 21 representatives of scientific institutions from Australia, Canada, Sweden, the USA and the UN summarize the results of more than 200 studies in the fields of forest, ecology and climate research in this metastudy.
natural forest
Biodiversity promotes forest growth
Lesedauer ca. 2 Minuten Study: A newly developed indicator can significantly improve forecasts of the consequences of climate change for our forests. Natural forest reserves serve as a reference for the adaptation of tree species and forest ecosystems to climate change. The accuracy of the indicator is likely to increase in the future.
Species-rich forests store twice as much carbon as monocultures
Lesedauer ca. 2 Minuten Study: Species-rich subtropical forests can absorb on average twice as much carbon as monocultures. With a mixture of native tree species, it is therefore possible to achieve higher productivity and thus better protect the climate.
Motivation for emergency logging is predominantly economic
Lesedauer ca. 2 Minuten Study: Extensive logging in protected forests is increasing. The so-called „sanitary cuts“ are generally intended to protect forest areas damaged by storms from attack by the bark beetle. However, this forestry instrument is used far too often. The protection of the forest or the safety of visitors is often only of secondary importance.
Trees also bind a lot of CO2 in old age
Lesedauer ca. 2 Minuten Study: Even old trees absorb a lot of carbon and thus remove CO2 from the atmosphere. Old trees thus also make an important contribution to climate protection. This has now been proven for the first time in a study conducted by the University of Hamburg.
Breeding birds prefer old structured forests
Lesedauer ca. < 1 Minute Study: Old and decaying trees are the best nursery for many forest birds. Old trees are therefore a particularly important part of their habitat.