Forest development and national park planning in the Bavarian Forest National Park.

摘要

The forest inventory in the National Park is a two-phased approach consisting of an inventory of permanent control plots and a forest survey in which the current stock was documented. During the 2002 summer season a total of 5859 inventory points, which are evenly distributed throughout the park in a 200 by 200 metre grid, were catalogued. This was followed in the year 2003 by an assessment of forest development stages performed during a forest survey and with the aid of aerial photographs. With inventory data also available for the years 1971, 1981 and 1991, interpretation of the development of the forest since the creation of the National Park is possible. The situation in the Rachel-Lusen-area (elder part of the park) has changed significantly since the last inventory 1991. There, as a consequence of a spruce bark beetle outbreak, the average volume of wood biomass decreased from 416 to 302 fm/ha. Also the proportion of deciduous trees has increased from 24% to 31%. For Norway spruce the values have decreased from 72% to 66%. Especially noteworthy is the fact that, after a 150-year period of decline, the silver fir has begun an initial recovery, although only by a small amount. Finally, the article evaluates the situation in the context of the goals of the National Park and shows the results of the planning process.