Chinawald

Research for international sustainable forest management  - "Chinawald"
 

During the last four decades Chinas forest area has increased from 12 % to 22 %. An additional 40 million ha are planned to be afforested. Due to insufficient forest management in the past forests are in poor condition. China has no experience in long-term forest management, while Germany has developed and applied techniques for long-term forest planning since decades.

Efficient planning tools to improve forest management and to quantify the actual forest status are needed. The project aims to train urgently needed specialists in the development of forest growth models and their application in the area of forest management by usage of guidelines and education courses. This capacity building will take place mainly at Zhongcun Forest Farm in the Zhongtiaoshan State Owned Forest Bureau of Shanxi Province.

The project results will help later to apply forest management plans correctly and long-term oriented, which can then be transferred to other regions. The described planning tools will then have significant impact on the forest development in China and help to manage the forests sustainably, to increase the productivity, growing stock and wood quality while not neglecting ecosystem services such as nutrient cycling, carbon storage and forest health.

BACK