Building committee informed in the city forest
How can the town forest of bad kissingen be made fit for the future?? Especially when he has several tasks to perform? It is supposed to filter and store drinking water, clean the air, prevent soil erosion, open up recreational areas and, last but not least, provide wood for a wide variety of uses from firewood to the finest veneer and precious woods. However, if you take a closer look, you can see that the forest is gradually coming into crisis due to the warming of the climate, because various tree species are having problems adapting to the changed conditions.
"How can the bad kissingen municipal forest be made fit for the future??" Was the only topic on the agenda of the building committee, which had gone to the forest on tuesday afternoon to visit and discuss on site models of maintenance thinning and forest conversion. Forestry director wilhelm schmalen from the state forestry administration of bad bruckenau and city forester alexander maunz presented the first measures and possibilities for further steps on the basis of three example areas in the vicinity of reiterswiesen and arnshausen.
Too little water for spruce and pine
Spruce and pine are the worst performers in the changed conditions, because they are not typical for the kissinger shell limestone soil, because they can absorb too little water as shallow roots. This can also be seen from the tops of the trees. Schmalen: "of course, we get enough rain in general. But in the last few years we have had long dry periods that have affected the trees." Although the pine has somewhat deeper roots and is also more sufficient than the spruce, its very origin in the colder northern european regions points to increasing problems with warming.
Now a short-term forest conversion is neither sensible nor possible, and pine and spruce will not disappear overnight. But the goal of forest design, according to maunz, is to create stable mixed forests from which the conifers in our latitudes may one day have disappeared.
Alternative trees do not have to be sought first. In the "eiches" forest department at reiterswiesen, which is noticeably weakened due to windthrow and bark infestation, 4300 bird cherries and the same number of yews are to be planted on 3.4 hectares, which are to conquer the terrain.
Yew trees can compete with each other
In the "reitlein the "all-purpose weapon concentrated. There, in a thinning stand of pine and larch, sloe, buckthorn and buckthorn have spread as overgrown ground cover. In this 2635 yew trees are to be planted. They need very little light and can grow through the thorn layer, which does not have to be removed at great cost. And they can take up the competition with the still standing trees. In addition, yew is a very valuable wood that can be marketed well.
On the scheinberg, maunz demonstrated to the committee how a stable stand can be created by regular thinning and removal of weak trees. In this context, maunz appealed to the private forest owners to abandon their reservations and also to carry out thinning inspections. The state subsidy regulations for municipal forestry operations also apply to private individuals.
