Evaluating the effectiveness of retention forestry to enhance biodiversity in production forests of Central Europe using an interdisciplinary, multi‐scale approach

Abstract

Retention forestry, which retains a portion of the original stand at the time of harvesting to maintain continuity of structural and compositional diversity, has been originally developed to mitigate the impacts of clear‐cutting. Retention of habitat trees and deadwood has since become common practice also in continuous‐cover forests of Central Europe. While the use of retention in these forests is plausible, the evidence base for its application is lacking, trade‐offs have not been quantified, it is not clear what support it receives from forest owners and other stakeholders and how it is best integrated into forest management practices. The Research Training Group ConFoBi (Conservation of Forest Biodiversity in Multiple‐use Landscapes of Central Europe) focusses on the effectiveness of retention forestry, combining ecological studies on forest biodiversity with social and economic studies of biodiversity conservation across multiple spatial scales. The aim of ConFoBi is to assess whether and how structural retention measures are appropriate for the conservation of forest biodiversity in uneven‐aged and selectively harvested continuous‐cover forests of temperate Europe. The study design is based on a pool of 135 plots (1 ha) distributed along gradients of forest connectivity and structure. The main objectives are (a) to investigate the effects of structural elements and landscape context on multiple taxa, including different trophic and functional groups, to evaluate the effectiveness of retention practices for biodiversity conservation; (b) to analyze how forest biodiversity conservation is perceived and practiced, and what costs and benefits it creates; and (c) to identify how biodiversity conservation can be effectively integrated in multi‐functional forest management. ConFoBi will quantify retention levels required across the landscape, as well as the socio‐economic prerequisites for their implementation by forest owners and managers. ConFoBi's research results will provide an evidence base for integrating biodiversity conservation into forest management in temperate forests.

Predicting Tree-Related Microhabitats by Multisensor Close-Range Remote Sensing Structural Parameters for the Selection of Retention Elements

“…at the highest peaks. The research project "Conservation of Forest Biodiversity in Multiple-Use Landscapes of Central Europe" (ConFoBi) established a network of 1-hectare plots in existing state-owned forests ( Figure 1) [30]. Plots were selected following a procedure to ensure the independence of single plots by including a minimum distance of 750 m between the plots and to ensure gradients of forest connectivity and structure.…”

“…Plots were selected following a procedure to ensure the independence of single plots by including a minimum distance of 750 m between the plots and to ensure gradients of forest connectivity and structure. The first gradient was the proportion of forest in the 25 km 2 surrounding of the plots and the second gradient was the number of standing dead trees per plot (see [30] for details). Forests in this area are dominated by Norway spruce (Picea abies L.), European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) and silver fir (Abies alba Mill.).…”

“…The main taxonomic groups that have been addressed in the established typology of TreMs include invertebrates such as insects, arachnids and gastropods as well as vertebrates such as birds, rodents, bats and carnivores [27]. It is a matter of ongoing research to evaluate which taxa profit directly or indirectly from the provision of TreMs, so far there is evidence that especially bats, saproxylic beetles and birds are related to the occurrence of TreMs [1,[28][29][30][31]. Habitat trees are considered large, old trees that offer a high number of TreMs compared to the "average" tree in a forest managed for timber production [32].…”

A holistic approach in herbicide resistance research and management: from resistance detection to sustainable weed control

“…Meanwhile, another level of innovation stems from making use of what is already available in the toolbox and combining the strengths of multiple tools, as demonstrated by this study. Similarly, interdisciplinary research has been proposed to address several ecological issues, such as climate change, fishery management, forestry retention, soil health and disease emergence [42][43][44][45][46] . However, few comprehensive examples exist in practice, for it requires a skilful balance between inputs from different and sometimes conflicting perspectives.…”

Habitat‐tree protection concepts over 200 years

“…The protection and sustainable management of habitat trees is an integral part of modern forest conservation concepts such as retention forestry. Retention forestry aims at integrating key biodiversity structures into production forests and implies the long-term retention of organisms and stand structure at the time of harvest (Gustafsson et al 2012(Gustafsson et al , 2020Storch et al 2020). Bats, squirrels, cavity-nesting birds, arboreal marsupials, epiphytic bryophytes, and a great diversity of specialized saproxylic species from several other taxonomic groups, especially arthropods and fungi, depend on living habitat trees and their large variety of microhabitats and old-growth characteristics ( Fig.…”