Implementation of the biotope and deadwood concept of the municipal forest of the city of Chemnitz
If you are currently strolling through the Ebersdorf forest and the Kohlung, you may have already seen the white woodpeckers that have been sprayed on trees. This is the realisation of the biotope and deadwood concept of the municipal forest of the city of Chemnitz.
Biotope tree islands were marked on the edge trees with the white woodpeckers. These are forest stands that are no longer regularly managed, but in which the trees are allowed to reach their natural age and are then left to decompose naturally. If a tree actually has to be felled due to safety measures, it remains as lying deadwood. Five biotope tree islands totalling 4.7 hectares have been designated in Ebersdorf Forest and Kohlung. Biotope tree islands will also be successively marked out in the other communal forest areas.
The fact that some forest stands are allowed to grow as old as possible contributes above all to species conservation. Old trees with hollows, cracks, broken branches etc. provide a habitat for a wide variety of animals. Cavity-nesting birds use the tree cavities made by woodpeckers. Many specialised insect species, many of which have become rare today, develop in rotten wood. For example, around 60 per cent of beetle species living in dead wood are already endangered in Germany. Similarly, many of the fungi, mosses and lichens that specialise in old and dead wood have become very rare in managed forests. Not only a sufficient amount of dead wood, but also sufficiently thick dead wood, which decomposes only slowly, is decisive for a large variety of species in the forest.
The designation of the biotope tree islands is one of 70 criteria to fulfil the strict FSC® standard version 3.0 and ensure sustainability in the Chemnitz city forest.