Frank Krumm

• Dr
• Senior Researcher at Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research

Purpose of review We are amid a historical momentum encouraging forest restoration, yet the translation of ambitious targets into reality is hindered by poor documentation and understanding of the success and failure of past restoration efforts. This review aims to evaluate the ecological, social, political and economic characteristics of forest re...

Tree-related Microhabitats (TreMs) are of prime concern for biodiversity since they host thousands of taxa. TreMs are discrete habitat patches borne by trees and cover a wide range of lifespans, from days to decades to centuries. The taxa associated with such discrete and sometimes highly ephemeral habitat patches are likely to be sensitive to spat...

The second edition of the field guide to tree-related microhabitats includes the latest scientific knowledge on associated species and contains an appendix of photographs of all 52 types of tree-related microhabitats, including five new ones since the first edition. This guidebook may be downloaded at the following link: www.wsl.ch/fg-trems Sugges...

Qua o là sta amo ün tal eroe plain fideltà sün seis post, cun büst sfrattamà, e stenda il bratsch our da spelm e grava, sco üna sgür pronta pel cumbat, o ch'el sta ingramüschà sco ün vegliet cha la burasca da la vita ha fat sgobar sün sias crotschas.

Understanding the dynamics of treeline ecotones under global change requires long-term ecological and environmental data. The Stillberg ecological treeline research site in the Swiss Alps was established in 1975 by planting 92,000 seedlings of Larix decidua, Pinus cembra and Pinus mugo ssp. uncinata, and has been continuously monitored since then....

Europe’s semi-natural grasslands support notably high levels of temperate biodiversity across multiple taxonomic groups. However, these ecosystems face unique conservation challenges. Contemporary agricultural practices have replaced historical traditional low-intensity agriculture in many regions, resulting in a spectrum of management intensities...

Forests are under pressure and going through rapid changes. However, current inventorying and monitoring (IM) programs are often either disjointed, too narrow in their scope and/or do not operate at fine enough temporal resolutions, which may hinder scientific understanding, the timely supply of information, fast decision making, and may result in...

Natürliche Störungen gehören zu den grössten Herausforderungen für die Erhal-tung der Schutzfunktionen unserer Wälder. Die Förderung einer möglichst hohen Resilienz gegenüber solchen Störungen wurde in den letzten Jahrzehnten zu ei-nem immer wichtigeren Bestandteil der Schutzwaldbewirtschaftung. In diesem Artikel geben wir einen Überblick zum Einfl...

Loss of insect biodiversity is widespread, and in forests habitat loss is one of the major drivers responsible. Integrative forest management must consider the preservation and promotion of key habitat features that provide essential microhabitats and resources to conserve biodiversity alongside ecosystem functions and services.

Im Mai 2020 legte die EU-Kommission eine Biodiversitätsstrategie und anschliessend daran eine neue Waldstrategie vor. Deren Ziel ist es, die Resilienz von Wäldern in EU-Ländern zu erhöhen und damit langfristig die Multifunktionalität von Wäldern zu sichern. Ein übergeordnetes Konzept in der Waldstrategie bezüglich der Bewirtschaftung von Wäldern au...

Klimawandel und Störungsereignisse stellen eine grosse Herausforderung für die Bewirtschaftung von Gebirgswäldern dar. Im Rahmen der naturnahen Waldbewirtschaftung könnte eine Erhöhung der Bewirtschaftungsintensität (INC-Strategie) die Störungsanfälligkeit verringern, jedoch ist wenig zu den Zielkonflikten mit der Biodiversitätsförderung und der Be...

Forests account for nearly 90 % of the world's terrestrial biomass in the form of carbon and they support 80 % of the global biodiversity. To understand the underlying forest dynamics, we need a long-term but also relatively high-frequency, networked monitoring system, as traditionally used in meteorology or hydrology. While there are numerous exis...

Unlabelled: Climate change severely affects mountain forests and their ecosystem services, e.g., by altering disturbance regimes. Increasing timber harvest (INC) via a close-to-nature forestry may offer a mitigation strategy to reduce disturbance predisposition. However, little is known about the efficiency of this strategy at the scale of forest...

Tree to tree interactions are important structuring mechanisms for forest community dynamics. Forest management takes advantage of competition effects on tree growth by removing or retaining trees to achieve management goals. Both competition and silviculture have, thus, a strong effect on density and distribution of tree related microhabitats whic...

Tree-related microhabitats (TreMs) have been identified as key features for forest-dwelling taxa and are often employed as measures for biodiversity conservation in integrative forest management. However, managing forests to ensure an uninterrupted resource supply for TreM-dwelling taxa is challenging since TreMs are structures with a limited avail...

Large-scale bark beetle outbreaks in spruce dominated mountain forests have increased in recent decades, and this trend is expected to continue in the future. These outbreaks have immediate and major effects on forest structure and ecosystem services. However, it remains unclear how forests recover from bark beetle infestations over the long term,...

What is Closer to Nature Forest Management? Closer-to-Nature Forest Management is a new concept proposed in the EU Forest Strategy for 2030, which aims to improve the conservation values and climate resilience of multifunctional, managed forests in Europe. Building on the latest scientific evidence, this report attempts to define the concept based...

This guidebook may be downloaded at the following link: www.wsl.ch/fg-trems Suggested reference for bibliography: Bütler, R.; Lachat, T.; Krumm, F.; Kraus, D.; Larrieu, L., 2020: Field Guide to Tree-related Microhabitats. Descriptions and size limits for their inventory. Birmensdorf, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research W...

Biodiversity is of great importance for the functioning of the forest ecosystem. Habitat trees are a key component of forest biodiversity. Experts from Europe have developed a typology of tree-related microhabitats, small life-sites borne by some trees, which are indispensable for thousands of specialised organisms. The uniform use of the forms, gr...

The maintenance and conservation of forest biodiversity has become a pivotal task of ecologically sustainable forest management. It depends on the appropriate management of forest composition and structure and the clever application of different, complementary instruments with respect to biodiversity and ecosystem functions. Most commonly, segregat...

Integrating nature conservation effectively in forests managed for timber production implies reconciling a trade-off between ecological and economic objectives. In continuous cover forest management, this culminates in decisions about tree harvesting (or retention) determining both the prevalence of tree-related microhabitats in the forest and the...

Sustainably managed non-native trees deliver economic and societal benefits with limited risk of spread to adjoining areas. However, some plantations have launched invasions that cause substantial damage to biodiversity and ecosystem services, while others pose substantial threats of causing such impacts. The challenge is to maximise the benefits o...

Sustainably managed non-native trees deliver economic and societal benefits with limited risk of spread to adjoining areas. However, some plantations have launched invasions that cause substantial damage to biodiversity and ecosystem services, while others pose substantial threats of causing such impacts. The challenge is to maximise the benefits o...

La biodiversité joue un rôle important dans le fonctionnement des écosystèmes forestiers. Les arbres-habitats sont des éléments clés pour les espèces vivant en forêt. Des spécialistes européens ont élaboré une typologie détaillée des dendromicrohabitats, petits milieux de vie portés par les arbres et qui sont indispensables à des milliers d’organis...

Cette publication peut être téléchargée à l'adresse suivante: www.wsl.ch/bmh-taschenfuehrer Citation recommandée: Bütler, R.; Lachat, T.; Krumm, F.; Kraus, D.; Larrieu, L., 2020: Guide de poche des dendromicrohabitats. Description et seuils de grandeur pour leur inventaire. Birmensdorf, Institut fédéral de recherches WSL. 59 p.

Die Biodiversität ist für das Funkti­onieren des Waldökosystems von grosser Bedeutung. Habitatbäume sind eine Schlüsselkompo­nente der Waldbiodiversität. Fach­leute aus Europa erarbeiteten eine Typologie der Lebensräume (soge­nannte Baummikrohabitate), die auf Bäumen vorkommen und für Tau­sende von spezialisierten Lebewe­sen unentbehrlich sind. Die...

Dieser Taschenführer beschreibt die 47 Typen von Baummikrohabitaten, die in 15 Gruppen und 7 Formen unterteilt sind. Der Taschenführer ist eine Beilage zum Merkblatt für die Praxis 64 «Habitatbäume kennen, schützen und fördern». Die einheit­liche Verwendung der so definierten Formen, Gruppen und Typen dieser Baummikrohabitate erleichtert die Umsetz...

Editorial of a special issue

Von Störungen betroffene Ökosysteme sind zweifellos anfälliger für Invasionen durch gebietsfremde Arten. Invasibilität steht daher in einem engen Zusammenhang mit Störungen. In diesem Kapitel werden überwiegend Untersuchungen aus mediterranen Regionen als Beispiele für die Wechselwirkung zwischen Störungen und eingeführten Pflanzenarten und ihren E...

Marteloscopes as training tools for the retention and conservation of habitat trees in forests Recently several initiatives on the political and practical level have aimed at promoting forest biodiversity and at halting the loss of species in forest ecosystems. Nevertheless numerous species are still threatened. The main reason for this phenomenon...

Habitat trees provide microhabitats for many forest-related species, and thus habitat-tree retention is one of the main measures to integrate nature conservation objectives into forests managed for wood production. By setting aside habitat trees, forest managers have to solve a crucial tradeoff between economic and environmental benefits. Therefore...

Marteloscopes are multifunctional training tools that can create a better understanding of forest management and have been developed as didactic tools for virtual tree selections. With this paper the authors provide explanatory information on the more than 40 Marteloscopes that were established in the course of the project Integrate+. It presents t...

Vorgestellt wird das Lehr-/Lernkonzept sog. „Marteloskope“. Zwei der bisher europaweit 40 Marteloskope befi nden sich im Stadtwald Freiburg. Diese werden im Rahmen der waldbaulichen Ausbildung an der Universität Freiburg eingesetzt. Veranschaulicht wird, was Marteloskope sind, wie sie funktionieren, welche Möglichkeiten sie in der forstlichen Aus-...

European natural mountain Norway spruce (Picea abies) forests are currently subject to extensive disturbances. An improved understanding of the self-regulated regenerative capacity of this forest type is therefore needed. We used the last remnant of natural mountain Norway spruce forests in central northwestern Europe (BNF Brocken natural forest),...

Tree related Microhabitats (hereafter TreMs) have been widely recognized as important substrates and structures for biodiversity in both commercial and protected forests and are receiving increasing attention in management , conservation and research. How to record TreMs in forest inventories is a question of recent interest since TreMs represent p...

‘Tree – tree’ interactions are important structuring mechanisms for forest community dynamics. Forest management takes advantage of competition effects on tree growth by removing or retaining trees to achieve management goals. Both competition and silviculture have thus a strong effect on density and distribution of Tree related Microhabitats (TreM...

Beside climatic changes, invasive species are currently considered one of the biggest threats to biodiversity. When scientists, practitioners and society discuss about intentional or unintentional introduction of species, the major concerns are usually about losing control of species that do not belong in certain natural ecosystems. The ease of tra...

This Integrate+ Technical Paper (in Persian) is one of several translations of the original published in English language (Catalogue of tree microhabitats – Reference field list).

This so called "Policy Brief" summarizes the outcomes of the project "In-Tree (http://www.in-tree.org/)". In particular it compiles in a condensed format the key messages of the project's main output, the publication: "Introduced tree species in European forests - opportunities and challenges". Krumm F. and Vitková L. (Eds.). Series: "In Focus Mana...

This Integrate+ Technical Paper (in Danish) is one of several translations of the original published in English language (Catalogue of tree microhabitats – Reference field list).

This Integrate+ Technical Paper (in Slovenian) is one of several translations of the original published in English language (Catalogue of tree microhabitats – Reference field list).

This Integrate+ Technical Paper (in Spanish) is one of several translations of the original published in English language (Catalogue of tree microhabitats – Reference field list).

This Integrate+ Technical Paper (in Italian) is one of several translations of the original published in English language (Catalogue of tree microhabitats – Reference field list).

Disturbed ecosystems are more vulnerable to invasions by introduced species and thus ecosystem invasibility can be linked to disturbances. Studies, mainly in the Mediterranean region, are presented in this chapter as examples of how disturbances interact with introduced plants and influence ecosystem development. In particular, fires may produce pe...

This Integrate+ Technical Paper (in French) is one of several translations of the original published in English language (Catalogue of tree microhabitats – Reference field list).

The smart phone application originates from the published report: Kraus, D., Bütler, R., Krumm, F., Lachat, T., Larrieu, L., Mergner, U., Paillet, Y., Rydkvist, T., Schuck, A., and Winter, S., 2016. Catalogue of tree microhabitats - field reference list. Integrate+ Technical Paper No. 13. 16 p. European Forest Institute (2016). Further credits go t...

Climatic variability often is thought to be most important for ecosystem development at ecotones, while competition is thought to be most important farther from ecotones, where neighboring plants compete for scarce resources. However, climatic variability may also modulate consequences of competition, especially under recent and future climate chan...

Il est possible d’atteindre les objectifs de gestion et de remplir des fonctions écosystémiques, telles que la conservation de la biodiversité, aussi bien dans les réserves forestières en libre évolution que dans les forêts hors réserve. L’argument principal en faveur d’un réseau de réserves forestières strictes bien développé est l’augmentation de...

Waldmanagementziele und Ökosystemfunktionen, wie z. B. die Erhaltung der Biodiversität, können sowohl in Waldschutzgebieten als auch in Waldflächen außerhalb von Schutzzonen erreicht werden. Das wichtigste Argument für geschützte Waldgebiete ist die mit verlängerten Sukzessions- und Entwicklungsphasen ansteigende Alpha-Diversität. Die Ausweisung ne...

This Integrate+ Technical Paper (in Czech) is one of several translations of the original published in English language (Catalogue of tree microhabitats – Reference field list). Velké množství mrtvého dřeva a vysoký počet starých stromů, na kterých se vyskytují mikrobiotopy, jsou charakteristickými prvky přirozených lesů a především pralesů. V hos...

This Integrate+ Technical Paper (in German) is one of several translations of the original published in English language (Catalogue of tree microhabitats – Reference field list). Naturwälder zeichnen sich unter anderem durch große Mengen an Totholz aus. Ebenso typisch ist eine hohe Diche von Altbäumen, die häufig sogenannte Mikrohabitate aufweisen....

Large quantities of deadwood and a high density of old microhabitat-bearing trees are characteristic elements of natural forests, especially of the old-growth phases. These are often absent or rare in managed forests, even in forests under close-to-nature management. Yet, an important share of forest biodiversity is strictly or primarily dependent...

This file contains the full report text of "State of Europe's Forest 2015". Due to size limitations, the annexes are presented in a separate file upload. Together the two files make up the entire 314 pages report.

L'introduction d'essences exotiques en forêt a des implications plus ou moins importantes sur la biodiversité selon le contexte écologique concerné. Un boisement en zone fortement rudéralisée aura un effet positif sur la biodiversité forestière, mais si cette introduction se fait au détriment d’une zone naturelle abritant des espèces à haute valeur...

Indicator 4.1 Tree species composition Around 70% of the forests in Europe are dominated by 2 or more tree species. The remaining 30% are dominated by 1 tree species alone, mainly conifers. The area of forest covered by a single tree species decreased over the last 15 years at a rate of around 0.6% annually. This may be related to changes in forest...

The Summary for Policy Makers is a brief document based on information included in the “State of Europe’s Forests 2015”report. This document offers a comprehensive overview of European forests, their current status, trends and policy responses related to them, as well as an insight into sustainable forest management (SFM) in Europe. The State of E...

A main task in forest management is to decide where, when and what kind of forest interventions are applied. Key factors influencing silvicultural decisions that practitioners make are their understanding of forest dynamics and their level of experience. Further, the presence of a wide range of theoretical strategies and concepts in forestry result...

Marteloskope sind 1 Hektar große, rechteckige Waldflächen, innerhalb derer alle Bäume inventarisiert und auf einer Karte abgebildet werden. Im Zusammenspiel mit einer Auswertungs -und Simulationssoftware werden sie für waldbauliches Training genutzt.

In this pilot study, we examine the relationship between the organisation of property rights and the economic importance of forestry on the one hand and the degree to which integrative nature conservation is formally implemented in forest policy on the other hand. Further, we are interested in whether political institutions moderate this relationsh...

Insects and diseases, storms, wildfires, drought, or damages caused by wildlife affect to various extents different European forest areas. From an ecological perspective these influences are part of natural development cycles of forests thus playing key roles in forest ecosystem dynamics. Whereas in the human value system such impacts usually have...

Recently the research project Integrate carried out by EFICENT (Regional office of the European Forest Institute in Freiburg) was finalized. The main goals of the project were to assess the current state of knowledge of biodiversity in managed and unmanaged forests and to investigate how indicators can sufficiently describe biodiversity in multi-fu...

Management goals and ecosystem functions such as biodiversity conservation can be met in both set-aside forest reserves and off-reserve forests. The major argument for well developed and protected forest reserves is the increase of alpha-diversity with extended succession periods and turn-over cycles. However, the establishment of new protected are...

German translation of the chapter: KRUMM, F., SCHUCK, A., KRAUS, D., 2013. Integrative management approaches: a synthesis. published in: IN FOCUS – Managing Forests in Europe: ‘Integrative approaches as an opportunity for the conservation of forest biodiversity’. Daniel Kraus, Frank Krumm (editors). European Forest Institute. 256 – 262. The transl...