Forest Adaptation and Close to Nature Management – Introduction
The module Forest Adaptation and Close to Nature Management is the first 3-week block module in the second semester (summer term). In this module we address the challenge how climate‑change adaptation and biodiversity conservation can be integrated into forest management to provide multiple ecosystem services sustainably.
Ecosystem services are benefits people obtain from the environment, for example clean drinking water, climate regulation, wood and non-wood forest products such as berries and mushrooms, recreation, health benefits and so on. Integrative forest management approaches such as Close‑to‑nature forest management (CTNFM) are increasingly recognized for their ability to promote biodiversity, optimize ecosystem services, and enhance resilience and adaptive capacity under global change.
The course covers the core principles of close‑to‑nature forest management – promoting forest structural heterogeneity, tree species‑ and genetic diversity through selection‑harvest systems, retaining habitat trees and dead wood, using site‑adapted tree species, promoting natural regeneration, and avoiding intensive management operations. It also addresses newer concepts such as landscape‑level heterogeneity and the management of stressors like invasive species.
After an introduction to the principles and their underlying theory, students experience CTNFM in field excursions to diverse case studies and then design an integrated management plan for a real forest area, balancing different objectives and integrative strategies.
