How the GoslarFFRLab work?
Climate change is increasing the frequency of vegetation fires in “new” fire-prone regions, posing major challenges for forestry. Post-fire reforestation guidelines for upland and low-mountain regions, particularly in comparison with other types of disturbance, are lacking. Above all, fire severity determines the extent of biomass loss, thereby altering nutrient and material cycles, microclimate, and local water balance—with effects on vegetation that remain poorly understood.At the same time, urgent questions concern the effectiveness and environmental compatibility of different fire-suppression strategies, as well as the health risks to forestry workers and local populations from fire-mobilized contaminants. Through erosion, these contaminants may also affect regional drinking-water quality. These issues are politically sensitive, particularly in former mining regions with high heavy-metal contamination and apparently impaired post-fire vegetation regeneration.
In the UNESCO World Heritage region of Goslar in the Harz Mountains—shaped by a legacy of 1,000 years of mining, smelting, and charcoal production—the project will use a controlled burn experiment to compare how four established fire-suppression strategies influence forest regeneration, mediated through soil biogeochemical processes and microclimatic conditions. We will also document additional hazard pathways during and after a fire, supporting better prevention of previously under-recognized wildfire impacts in Central Europe.
In the long term, the Goslar FFR Lab will serve as an open real-world laboratory for community-wide research and education.
Project Speaker:
Prof. Dr. Elisabeth Dietze
Goldschmidtstraße 5, 37077 Göttingen
edietze@uni-goettingen.de