German Wildlife Foundation
Hamburg (ots)
In our forest of the future, different species of deciduous trees should grow in different stages of life. Mixed forests rich in species and structures are particularly resistant to storms and the bark beetle. And they can adapt to climatic changes better than monotonous coniferous forests. In order for our forest of the future to become reality as quickly as possible, many foresters and forest owners demand one thing above all – the numerous shooting of deer and stags. Because these feed, among other things, on young tree shoots and are therefore considered by many people to be pests. In order to intensify hunting, closed seasons should be shortened and hunting grounds reduced. On the occasion of International Forest Day on March 21, the German Wildlife Foundation published the brochure “Forest Pictures from Wild Forests”. It shows that sustainable forests can also grow in places where large wild animals are deliberately taken into account.
“In our new publication, we present nine forestry operations between the Szczecin Lagoon in the north and the Hohe Tauern in the south, in which forestry is practiced under very different conditions and for different interests,” says Dr. Andreas Kinser, Head of Nature and Species Conservation at the German Wildlife Foundation. “Despite all the differences, the farms still have one thing in common: through clever wildlife management, they are able to influence the distribution of wild animals and thus achieve forest goals,” says Kinser. All farms create alternative food supplies in a targeted manner, for example by accepting tree species that are unattractive in terms of forestry. In the pioneer phase of forests, which also sets in after storms or insect infestation, the naturally occurring vegetation of shrubs and softwood species offers an inexhaustible reservoir of forage plants for roe deer and stags. The regeneration of the actual main tree species is thus relieved. Fences are only used in exceptional cases in the companies presented, for example when previously very rare tree species, such as chestnuts, are artificially introduced into the forests.
The wildlife-friendly businesses also underline that hunting is of central importance for species- and structure-rich forest images – just like the hunting rest. Because chased animals must be able to find a place where they are allowed to stay. “Wild rest zones can relieve areas in which regeneration is necessary in a similar way to intensive hunting,” says Andreas Kinser. That is why the German Wildlife Foundation advocates keeping hunting-free areas in every hunting ground. Through the triad of hunting, hunting rest and alternative food supply, it is ultimately possible to allow forests rich in species and structures to grow and at the same time allow wild animals to behave naturally.
The publication “Forest Pictures from Wild Forests” can be downloaded here:
Press contact:
Jenifer Calvi
Press Officer German Wildlife Foundation
Phone 040-970 78 69 – 14
[email protected]
www.DeutscheWildtierStiftung.de
Original content from: German Wildlife Foundation, transmitted by news aktuell
