Economic implications of species mixture and structural diversity in European beech stands enriched with conifers
PhD student
Julia KlenkeResearch Outline
Promoting mixed forests is considered a forestry policy strategy to address future challenges in forest management. Mixed forests are better adapted to environmental changes and compensate for risks such as storms, pests, diseases, droughts, and other climate-related risks, resulting in positive effects on the survival of species in a mixture under climate change.Although mixed forests promote more ecological functions than economic aspects, the reduction of economic risks is also a strong supporting argument for admixing forest stands. In addition to reducing the risk associated with the vulnerability of the forest to calamities, a continuous and regular timber harvest in mixed forests would reduce the risk associated with the concentration of timber harvesting at a single point in time, by creating options for future harvests. The establishment of a tree species portfolio, as used in mixed forests, is also a solution for the fluctuating demand for various species, qualities, and assortments.
As part of the GRK2300, this SP aims to evaluate the economic returns and associated risks of mixed forests of beech with Douglas fir and spruce compared to pure stands of these tree species. The main hypothesis is that mixed forests will show higher and more stable long-term economic returns while presenting less associated risks compared to pure stands.
In the first part of the SP, we investigate trade-offs between economic returns and biodiversity, which can be relevant for both, private and public beneficiaries. In the second part of the SP, we want to investigate the influence of tree species mixture and structure on economic returns.