Tree species for climate-adaptive forest management |
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| Gino van Maaren MSc,
Thursday 30 January 2025 |
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| 159 sec |
Information on fourteen tree species that can play a role in climate-adaptive forest management
More and more forest managers and owners are making their forests resilient against climate change. A suitable choice of tree species consisting of climate-resistant trees is indispensable here. The online Toolkit for Climate-Smart Forest and Nature Management features a series of easily accessible fact sheets with information on fourteen tree species that can play a role in climate-adaptive forest management.
| From left to right: sweet chestnut, common silver fir, and rowanberry (photos l. to r.: Bas Lerink, Paul Copini, and Mark Benders) |
Climate change has major consequences for the Netherlands and for Dutch forests. The KNMI predicts that the average annual temperature in 2050 could rise by +0.9°C to +1.6°C compared to the reference period 1991-2020. By 2100, the average annual temperature could even be +4.4°C higher than in this reference period. Summers will become hotter and drier with more prolonged droughts, heatwaves, and rainfall deficits, but also extreme downpours. Winters, on the other hand, will become milder and wetter with fewer ice and frost days.
What does this mean for Dutch forests?
Due to the higher summer temperatures, trees will evaporate more and will need more moisture, while there will be less precipitation in summer. This will lead to forests often facing increasingly larger rainfall deficits. Additionally, the likelihood of (prolonged) droughts will increase, causing rainfall deficits to grow even further. Especially drought-sensitive tree species are expected to struggle, with lower growth, reduced health (vitality), and higher tree mortality as a result.
Thanks to the milder winters and the predicted decrease in the number of ice and frost days, the growing season can start earlier and last longer. As long as other factors (such as water availability) are not limiting, this longer growing season can lead to more growth. However, the earlier budding of trees also carries an increased risk of damage from late spring frosts. Thanks to the warmer winters, winter mortality among pest insects is also expected to decrease. Combined with the longer growing season, this means that the impact of pest insects will further increase in the future. Moreover, new pest insects and diseases, currently limited by cold winters, will find their way to the Netherlands.
With the warming climate, extreme weather conditions and natural disturbances, such as wildfires, will occur more frequently. The number of extreme downpours in summer is increasing, and gusts and wind gusts during storms may become stronger. This can lead to more windthrow and damage to trees. The risk of wildfires also increases due to higher temperatures and evaporation and the decrease in the amount of precipitation in the summer. The rainfall deficits also lead to drought stress, making trees more susceptible to attacks by (new) pest insects and diseases.
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'Mixing tree species and structural variation are important measures for more climate-resilient forests, as is the introduction of climate-resistant tree species'
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Fact sheets of climate-resistant tree species
Some tree species, especially those sensitive to drought, will thus come under pressure due to climate change and may even disappear from the Netherlands. Many forest managers and owners are therefore preparing their forests for the future climate. Mixing tree species and structural variation are important measures for more climate-resilient forests, as is the introduction of climate-resistant tree species.
To provide information to forest managers, Stichting Probos, Staatsbosbeheer, and the Centre for Genetic Resources Netherlands (CGN) have compiled fact sheets based on literature studies about fourteen potential tree species for climate-adaptive forest management. These easily accessible information sheets contain information about relevant properties and growth place requirements. Table 1 is a simplified summary of how the tree species score on drought and shade tolerance, potential contributions to CO2 capture and biodiversity, and the risk of invasiveness. A more detailed explanation is available in the fact sheets that can be downloaded for free at https://gereedschapskist.vbne.nl/factsheets.
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| Tree Species |
Drought Tolerance |
Shade Tolerance |
Contribution to CO2 Capture |
Contribution to Biodiversity |
Risk of Invasiveness |
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| Atlas Cedar |
Medium to low |
Medium to low |
High |
Low |
Low |
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| Hazel Tree |
Medium |
Medium to low |
Unknown |
Medium |
Low |
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| Rowanberry |
High |
Medium to high |
Low |
Very high |
Low |
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| Common Walnut |
Medium |
Low |
High |
Low |
Low |
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| Common Silver Fir |
Low |
Very high |
Very high |
Medium |
Medium |
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| Coast Redwood |
Low |
Very high |
Very high |
Unknown |
Medium |
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| Cedar of Lebanon |
Medium |
Low |
High |
Low |
Low |
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| Oriental Plane |
High |
Medium |
Very high |
Low |
Unknown |
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| Quaking Aspen |
Medium |
Low to medium |
Very high |
Very high |
Medium |
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| Sweet Chestnut |
High |
Medium to high |
Medium |
Medium |
Medium |
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| Yew |
High |
Very high |
Medium |
Medium |
Low |
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| Field Maple |
Medium |
Medium to high |
Low |
High |
Low |
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| Stone Pine |
Very high |
Low to medium |
High |
Unknown |
Medium to high |
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| Black Walnut |
Medium |
Low |
High |
Unknown |
Low |
 | | Gino van Maaren |
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About the author
Gino van Maaren is employed at Stichting Probos, an organization focused on forest management and forest policy in the Netherlands. Within Probos, he is involved in various projects aimed at future-proof forest management and data provision. This article previously appeared in De Landeigenaar (July 2024).
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This article was previously published on January 30, 2025, on the website of Boomzorg.
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