Stuttgart planning to prepare forests for climate change
-
Loading... - Stevens Harvey
- 18 Feb 2022
- 431 Views
- 0 Like
- 0 Comment
On Tuesday, city authorities in Stuttgart, Germany, announced they are going to change their approach to managing forests with a heavy emphasis on climate resilience. The shift was proposed by Technical Mayor Dirk Thürnau to the city’s Forest Advisory Board (Über den Waldbeirat) and it aims to promote biodiversity in the local forestry.
Specifically, the proposal focuses on maintaining different tree species, so forests have a stronger chance to withstand the changing climate.
The main point of the idea is to change the way the city manages local forests. Instead of a space for recreation and wood harevesting, authorities should start to recognize them as a bulwark for some of the worst effects of climate change, such as desertification, flood and soil protection. All other uses should be secondary.
Managing forests for climate resilience
Forests are extremely important flood and erosion barriers and using the next ten years to get them ready for a shift in climate conditions could have major impact on the quality of life Europe. This is why Stuttgart is trying to act sooner rather than later.
Technical Mayor Thürnau explained that science can roughly estimate the emerging climate changes, as well as what trees will be more suited for what is to come. However, it is hard to know for sure and one of the best ways to prepare is to make Stuttgart’s forest as diverse as possible when it comes to tree species in the smallest area. Read More…
