Table Of ContentEcological Studies 237
Nicole Wellbrock
Andreas Bolte Editors
Status and
Dynamics
of Forests in
Germany
Results of the National Forest
Monitoring
Ecological Studies
Analysis and Synthesis
Volume 237
Serieseditors
JosepG.Canadell
Canberra,Australia
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EcologicalStudiesisSpringer’spremierbookseriestreatingallaspectsofecology.
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Nicole Wellbrock Andreas Bolte
Editors
Status and Dynamics
of Forests in Germany
Results of the National Forest Monitoring
Editors
NicoleWellbrock AndreasBolte
ThünenInstituteofForestEcosystems ThünenInstituteofForestEcosystems
Eberswalde,Germany Eberswalde,Germany
ISSN0070-8356 ISSN2196-971X (electronic)
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Preface
TemperateforestecosystemsinCentralEuropearechanging.Thisisduetoanthro-
pogenicinducedsitemodificationthroughthedepositionofairpollutantsaswellas
to the effects of a changing climate. In Germany, the National Forest Monitoring
Program consists of a forest condition survey and a soil inventory as well as the
intensiveforestmonitoringstudyingecosystemandtheirresponsestochangingsite
and climate conditions. The results allow the assessment of the forest ecosystem
statusanditsdynamics.
This volume compiles and integrates scientific findings of the German Forest
MonitoringProgramcoveringmajorchallengesoffuturepreservationandmanage-
ment of forest ecosystems under environmental change. What are the main impact
factorsaffecting forest stand and soil integrity? How, and how dynamic, are forest
ecosystemschangingduetositeandclimatevariation?Howdiversearethechang-
ingpatternsinGermany?Whatarethemainrisksforasustainableforestecosystem
management in the future? How can policy support the maintenance and develop-
ment of adaptive and resilient forest ecosystems providing the required ecosystem
services,todayandinthefuture?
Inthiscomprehensiveanalysis,49scientistsfromdifferentresearchinstitutesand
universitiesjoinedhands.
Mainly based on the National Forest Soil Inventory (NFSI), the analysis is
supportedbycasestudiesfromtheIntensiveForestMonitoring(LevelII)Program
inGermanyandtheresults ofthenation-wideCrown ConditionSurvey (CCS),all
three parts of the National Forest Monitoring Program. Combining a system of
representativeplots(n¼1900)withinaregulargridsampleof8kmwidth(NFSI)
with process and flux studies on 69 exemplary plots of the Intensive Forest Moni-
toring Program (Level II), this program is part of the International Co-operative
ProgrammeonAssessmentandMonitoringofAirPollutionEffectsonForests(ICP
Forests).
The history of the convention can be traced back to the 1960s, when scientists
demonstrated the interrelationship between sulfur emissions in continental Europe
andtheacidificationofScandinavianlakes.Inthe1980s,severalstudiesconfirmed
v
vi Preface
thelinkandpublicawarenessroselinkedtothephenomenonofWaldsterben,forest
die-off.ThosediscussionsresultedinthesignatureoftheInternationalConventionon
Long-rangeTransboundaryAirPollution(UNECECLRTAP).Alreadypriortothis,
theFederalStatesofGermanyandfurthercountriesinEuropeinstalledasystemto
monitorforestcondition.Laterthismethodwasappliedandsincethenfurtherdefined
andharmonized toserve asa proxy ataninternational level.Inthe1990s, theICP
ForestsProgrammewassubstitutedwiththeIntensiveForestMonitoring(LevelII)
andasoilsurvey.Since2010,theForestMonitoringProgramispartoftheGerman
Forest Act (Bundeswaldgesetz § 41 a) and under the responsibility of the Federal
MinistryofFoodandAgriculture(BMEL).ForestresearchinstitutesoftheFederal
statesconductandfinancethemeasurementsandassessmentsonthemonitoringplots
and prepare regional reporting, whereas the Thünen Institute of Forest Ecosystems
managesthedataandcoordinatesthemethodharmonization,analyses,andreporting
atnationalandinternationallevel.
Underthename“NationalForestSoilInventory(NFSI),”alargesetofinforma-
tion is combined such as information on forest stand structure, element content of
needlesorleaves,groundvegetationcomposition,andcrownconditioninformation
(fromCCSonthesameplots).Thecomparisonoftheresultsofthefirst(1989–1992)
and the second NFSI (2006–2008) enabled the assessment of dynamics of forests
andforestsoils.
Additional process-related parameters are measured within the Intensive Forest
MonitoringProgram(LevelII),e.g.,soilsolutionchemistry,atmosphericdeposition,
ormeteorology.Theinclusionofprocessstudiesprovidedadeeperunderstandingof
cause–effect relationship of ecosystem processes triggered by air pollution and
climatevariation.
Maythisvolumehelptounderstandtheimportanceofsoilsandrelatedecosystem
processes for the further discussion of sustainable forestry. The functions of forest
soilsarecloselyrelatedtoforestecosystemintegrityandproductivity.Thus,boththe
knowledge of environmental change and the related change of forest status and
dynamics represent a basic principle for successful forest management and forest
policy.
Eberswalde,Germany NicoleWellbrock
November2018 AndreasBolte
Acknowledgments
Our special thanks go to the numerous technicians and researchers of the forest
research institutes who have run the National Forest Monitoring Program for
decades by tending the plots and their equipment, gathering data, and managing
thedataataregionalandanationallevel.Wearealsoverygratefultotheresponsible
ministries of the Federal states and the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture
(BMEL) for the continuous financing of the program. This also includes various
authoritiesoftheEuropeanUnion(EU)whoco-fundedpartsofthemonitoringuntil
2011undervariousconventionsandprograms(e.g.,latestproject“FutMon”under
EULIFE+orBIOSOIL).The network ofICPForests facilitatesdiscussionsabove
thebordersofcountries withintheexpert groups leadingto acontinuousimprove-
mentoftheresearchconducted.
We would also like to thank all involved research organizations, the Federal
Environmental Agency (UBA), and the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Nat-
uralResources(BGR)fortheproductivecollaboration.Withoutalltheirefforts,we
wouldnothavebeenabletoperformtheanalysesandevaluationspresentedinthis
volume.
vii
Contents
1 ConceptandMethodologyoftheNationalForestSoilInventory. . . 1
NicoleWellbrock,BerndAhrends,RebekkaBögelein,AndreasBolte,
NadineEickenscheidt,ErikGrüneberg,NilsKönig,AndreasSchmitz,
StefanFleck,andDanielZiche
2 EnvironmentalSettingsandTheirChangesintheLastDecades. . . 29
NicoleWellbrock,NadineEickenscheidt,ErikGrüneberg,
andRebekkaBögelein
3 SoilWaterBudgetandDroughtStress. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
HeikePuhlmann,PaulSchmidt-Walter,PeterHartmann,
HenningMeesenburg,andKlausvonWilpert
4 SoilAcidificationinGermanForestSoils. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
HenningMeesenburg,WinfriedRiek,BerndAhrends,
NadineEickenscheidt,ErikGrüneberg,JanEvers,HeikeFortmann,
NilsKönig,AmalieLauer,KarlJosefMeiwes,Hans-DieterNagel,
Claus-GeorgSchimming,andNicoleWellbrock
5 NitrogenStatusandDynamicsinGermanForestSoils. . . . . . . . . 123
StefanFleck,NadineEickenscheidt,BerndAhrends,JanEvers,
ErikGrüneberg,DanielZiche,JulianeHöhle,AndreasSchmitz,
WendelinWeis,PaulSchmidt-Walter,HenningAndreae,
andNicoleWellbrock
6 CarbonStocksandCarbonStockChangesinGerman
ForestSoils. . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . .. . . . 167
ErikGrüneberg,IngoSchöning,WinfriedRiek,DanielZiche,
andJanEvers
7 HeavyMetalStocksandConcentrationsinForestSoils. . . . . . . . . 199
JensUtermann,CihanTarihAydın,NorbertBischoff,
JürgenBöttcher,NadineEickenscheidt,JoachimGehrmann,
NilsKönig,BirteScheler,FlorianStange,andNicoleWellbrock
ix
x Contents
8 OccurrenceandSpatialDistributionofSelectedOrganic
SubstancesinGermany’sForestSoils. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
MarcMarx,JulianeAckermann,SimoneSchmidt,JensUtermann,
andBerndM.Bussian
9 NutritionalStatusofMajorForestTreeSpeciesinGermany. . . . . 261
UlrikeTalkner,WinfriedRiek,IngeDammann,MartinKohler,
AxelGöttlein,KarlHeinzMellert,andKarlJosefMeiwes
10 PlantsasIndicatorsofSoilChemicalProperties. . .. . . . .. . . . .. . 295
HagenS.Fischer,BarbaraMichler,DanielZiche,andAntonFischer
11 SpatialResponsePatternsinBioticReactionsofForest
TreesandTheirAssociationswithEnvironmentalVariables
inGermany. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311
NadineEickenscheidt,HeikePuhlmann,WinfriedRiek,
PaulSchmidt-Walter,NicoleAugustin,andNicoleWellbrock
12 SustainableUseandDevelopmentofForestsandForestSoils:
AResume. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355
AndreasBolte,JoachimBlock,JohannesEichhorn,
TanjaG.M.Sanders,andNicoleWellbrock
Appendix. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375
Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379
