Climate change has big effects on forests in Central Europe. In Switzerland, dry summers cause many trees to die, especially the most common species beech and spruce. From the point of view of biodiversity, such areas are very valuable, as they are rich in structures and provide deadwood as a habitat for often endangered species. The Ornithological Institute signs contracts with Swiss forest owners who then do not manage their forests for 30 years.
The objectives of this conservation project include: 1) 300 hectares of forests affected by drought stress are left to develop, i.e. decay, naturally with the aim to preserve and promote specialized biodiversity. Success is monitored for wood-dwelling insects and breeding birds. The latter are recorded every seven years using passive acoustic monitoring (PAM). Various woodpecker species, pygmy owl, stock dove and willow tit are expected to benefit from such a long-term protection.
Project leader: Peter Lakerveld, Swiss Ornithological Institute, peter.lakerveld@vogelwarte.ch; responsible for acoustic monitoring: Thomas Sattler, Swiss Ornithological Institute, thomas.sattler@vogelwarte.ch
Photo credits: A beech forest affected by drought stress in the Swiss Jura (Nenzlingen, Canton Baselland, photo by P. Lakerveld)