Forest, forest management, forestry

Despite all the efforts of hunters and land managers, roe deer fawns are still injured during spring mowing. More fawns could be saved if we knew where roe deer mothers prefer to place their fawns, and which bed sites the fawns actually choose within a meadow. To answer these questions, more than 600 bed sites throughout Bavaria were characterised and analysed in a research project.

How fast do bark beetles develop? When does the spring swarming begin? Does the infestation continue in autumn? And, where are currently the main risk areas for bark beetle infestation? Two new models developed at the FVA, PHENIPS-Clim and IpsRisk, now provide this information to interested forest owners in southwest Germany.

More and more often, there are ever larger areas of damage in our forests. This presents a major challenge for forest owners - especially in steep terrain such as in the Bavarian Limestone Alps. How should we deal with the damaged areas? Is the sowing of pioneer plants by drone an option for preserving the growing conditions on these sites?

To reinforce biodiversity in a stand and thus improve its resilience, it makes sense to know which tree-related microhabitats are present, and to preserve and favour them through adapted management practices.

Brown needles, brush-shaped tufts of needles and bare twigs: anyone currently visiting moorland areas in southern Bavaria will recognise this sight. It is caused by the fungus Lecanosticta, which originates from America.

The GRIMO project is concerned with the rewetting of a wooded fen in the Griessenbacher Moos bog. The project tries to break new ground in several respects: Peatlands in privately-owned forests and forested fens have only rarely been rewetted to date, because most peatlands in the forest tackled so far have been raised bogs in state-owned forests.

The Alpine region: on the one hand a habitat for wild animals, on the other hand an increasingly popular recreational area. But when humans and wild animals meet, there is often a clash of interests. Raising the sensitivity of recreational visitors to the needs of wildlife can help to preserve the Alpine region as a wildlife habitat. To be successful in this, we need to take a closer look at how people use their leisure time, and at their motivation.

The large pine weevil (Hylobius abietis) lives in pine and spruce stands. It becomes a problem when new coniferous trees are planted on freshly created bare areas.

As an adaptive corvid, the jackdaw learnt very early on how to use the advantages of human settlements and cultivated landscapes for itself. Today, it has to come to terms with increasingly rapid structural change.

The pre-Christmas and Christmas season is peak season here for nuts and nut fruits. As well as the classics - hazelnuts, almonds and walnuts - exotic nut species such as cashews, Brazil nuts and macadamia nuts also find their way on to our tables at Christmas time. And many Christmas markets and pedestrian zones would of course not be the same in winter without the scent of roasted chestnuts.

The whitebeam is Tree of the Year 2024 - but due to its low competitive ability, it is a rarity in Bavaria. On problem sites or damaged areas, however, this pioneer tree species can make the most of its advantages - and defy drought and extreme radiation.

There are several stages in the introduction of invasive species: their introduction via transport is followed by establishment - and if this is not prevented, the species continues to spread. Eradication measures implemented for the Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) show that successful eradication is possible before major ecological and economic damage occurs.