On 20 November 2025, we will plant 300 trees in the botanical garden…
Last year, a few large spruce trees had to be felled due to bark beetle damage. This has created an opportunity to create a ‘climate-resistant’ forest. Since many other tree species besides spruce are unable to keep pace with the speed of climate change, the concept of ‘climate-smart’ forests has gained in importance. Forestry is increasingly relying on introduced tree species that are likely to grow well under the future climate conditions predicted for Central Europe and are more resistant to extreme weather events or pest infestation. However, we still know very little about the performance of many of these species outside their natural range and even less about how new tree species will affect ecosystem processes or interact with other species.
We're planting the cleared area with some of these ‘climate-smart’ tree species so that we can study their performance and impact on the ecosystem in direct comparison with native trees. The idea is to plant beech, oak and lime trees in pairs – one native and one introduced species of each genus (Fagus, Quercus, Tilia) . So we're planting a forest, but in a scientific experimental design.
Starting next spring, the experiment will be open to anyone who wants to conduct pilot studies and bachelor's or master's theses on tree biology, forest ecology, humans and nature, species interactions, etc. – and hopefully for at least another 20 to 30 years!