Effects of Ungulate Browsing on Forest Regeneration and Silviculture
Birmensdorf (Zürich), Switzerland / 14 - 16 October 2015
http://www.wsl.ch/iufro-ungfor2015/
Dear Division 1 Scientists and Colleagues,
Ungulate browsing is one of the many factors that affect tree establishment, growth and
mortality and thus both structure and species composition of forests. Tree saplings are
part of the usual food of ungulate species and palatable tree species, like Abies alba
(European silver fir), are often browsed by ungulates. At the same time, natural
regeneration of a mixture of species is valued in mountain protection forests to mitigate
damages of snow avalanches, rockfall, mass flow and wind storms. Thereby, species with
deep rooting systems (like Abies alba and Acer pseudoplatanus) are particularly
important.
Measuring and monitoring the effects of ungulates on forest regeneration pose however
major challenges because leader shoot browsing rate linearly correlates neither with tree
density nor with species composition. The conference intends to present the current state
of knowledge on ungulate impacts on tree regeneration and their implications for forest
stand dynamics. We specifically focus on sustainable natural tree regeneration under
current and predicted future climate.
If you are working in this area and have not yet registered for the symposium, here is
your chance to do so: visit
http://www.wsl.ch/iufro-ungfor2015/registration/ and book your
place!
We are looking forward to welcoming you to WSL Birmensdorf!
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posted by Brigitte Burger on behalf of
Andreas Zingg, research forester, dipl Forsting. ETH
Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL
Zürcherstrasse 111
CH-8903 Birmensdorf
Switzerland
phone +41-44-739 23 35
fax +41-44-739 22 15
http://www.wsl.ch