Case study Oberschwaben / Allgäu / Vorarlberg / Prättigau -Risk Assessment of Abiotic and Biotic Hazards http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/56284 357 Figure 2. Case study subarea Ravensburg and tree species distributionMixed and pure Norway Spruce forests dominate throughout the district whereas European Beech and other deciduous tree species play a minor role. Forests are interspersed with bogs and a few open grasslands. Besides management of water protection and nature conservation areas half a million cubic meters of timber are sustainably harvested every year providing valuable resources for the regional sawmill, paper and plywood industry. Unfortunately many of the even aged Norway spruce dominated forests have been subject to wind throw and following bark beetle mass outbreak events in the past [ ]. According to current climate projections there is a strong need for alternative silvicultural management options to preserve their growth and economical productivity.. Allgäu / Kempten . . Geographical settingThe case study area Allgäu / Kempten figure is located in the south-western part of Bavaria . ° and . ° latitude and . ° and . ° longitude between the foothills of the Alps close to Kempten and F(ssen in the north and the high Alps in the south bordering the frontier The administrative district of Lindau is separated in municipalities with approx. . inhabitants and a total area of .ha. The administrative district of Oberallgäu is the southernmost administrative district of the Federal Republic of Germany with an area of . , km² and approximately . inhabitants. Oberallgäu is separated in municipalities. . . ClimateIn the western lowlands m a.s.l. along Lake Constance, annual temperatures average around -°C. In the Western Allgäu Uplands m a.s.l. the temperature mean is -°C. In both areas mean annual precipitation is .. mm. Within the administrative district of Oberallgäu mean annual temperatures range from . °C in the northern parts to . °C in the south. The mean annual precipitation in northern areas sums up to . . mm per year whereas the south receives .. mm annually. . . Forest functionsThe case study area comprises . ha of forests of which about a third . ha are declared protection forests securing settlements and infrastructural facilities from avalanches, rockfall, landslides and flooding. They develop under geologic conditions characterized by limestone, flysch and tertiaries with sandy clayey soil or bogs. Besides their essential protective function, Case study Oberschwaben / Allgäu / Vorarlberg / Prättigau -Risk Assessment of Abiotic and Biotic Hazards http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/56284 359 forests are crucial for tourism and recreation activities km of pedestrian walkways, km of bicycle tracks as well as for landscape and nature conservation. . . Forest types and distributionThe most common tree species are Norway Spruce Picea abies L. Karst. % , European Beech Fagus sylvatica L. and Silver Fir Abies alba Mill. . They represent the climax species of typical mixed mountain forests in southern Germany figure ....