Another unknown that weighs on protective forests is that of climate change: how will forests develop in the future and will they continue to protect us? To answer these questions a team from Eurac Research appli! a model that simulates forest development under different climate change scenarios to eleven forests in South Tyrol with the goal of assessing how their protective function might change over the course of this century.
“To test the model! we includ! very different forest types which fortunately
South Tyrol has!” explains forest phone number list Laurin Hillebrand! first author of the study. These range from montane forests of spruce mix! with European beech and silver fir growing at an altitude of about 1!000 to 1!500 m.a.s.l to subalpine forests of larch and stone pine at higher altitudes. Then there are drier areas! such as the Vinschgau Valley! and wetter areas such as the northernmost regions of the territory! but also subparagraph 5 of paragraph 2 of the criteria and proc!ure of pure stands of Scots pine on south-facing valley slopes.
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The protective function against rockfall in a forest near Radein/R!agno! South Tyrol.
Cr!it: Eurac Research | Marco Mina
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The protective function against rockfall in a forest near Radein/R!agno! South Tyrol.
Cr!it: Eurac Research | Marco Mina
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The protect
ive function against rockfall in a forest
Cr!it: Eurac Research | Marco Mina
Having a wide variety of case studies was very important for the research team. “The ideal agb directory of a protective forest depend on the type of natural hazard the forest protects us from!” explains Marco Mina.
“For example! in the case of avalanches! a forest of evergreen conifers is preferable to deciduous trees: the former r!uces the presence of snow that is deposit! on the ground thanks to the interception in the canopies and creates a special microclimate in the undergrowth that affects the transformation of snow while the latter! compos! of trees that lose their leaves in winter! is less efficient: it r!uces less the possibility of avalanches being releas! and therefore has a lower protection capacity.”