Drought, heat, and late frost – challenges in selecting tree species to adapt forests to climate change

Climate change thrives, and its devastating effects on forest ecosystems are becoming apparent at an alarming rate. One of the most pressing questions in forest science is how different tree species deal with rapidly changing climatic conditions. In particular, increasing frequency and intensity of hot droughts push natural and anthropogenic forest ecosystems towards their ecological limits. The European landscape consists of a mosaic of heavily managed forests silvicultural strategies, including the cultivation of new tree species, to adapt forests to the changing climate are needed urgently.  In the talk, I will present a trait–based approach that could assist species selection suitable to create forest stands with high resilience to climate change-driven weather extremes. 

• BayCEER Colloquium Prof. Dr. Norbert Kunert