Riding Horse Rune: This is how our forest becomes climate-stable and diverse!

Riding Horse Rune: This is how our forest becomes climate-stable and diverse!

In the Dickenreishauser Forest in the Memmingen region, innovative approaches are used in forest management. Here Rune, a powerful eight-year-old cold-blooded stallion, works as a forwarding horse and pulls tree trunks from the forest into the logging lane, where the wood is processed further by machines. Wolfgang Küchle, deputy head of the city's forestry administration, highlights the advantages of this environmentally friendly method: The use of skidders allows for greater distances between the skid paths and protects the soil, roots and remaining trees compared to mechanical methods. Rune itself weighs around 800 kilograms and can pull twice its weight.

The forestry administration has recognized that the intensive cultivation of the spruce forests - which make up a large part of the forest with 95 percent shallow roots and have been affected by storms in recent decades - is not sustainable. Stefan Honold, head of the city's forestry administration, emphasizes the need to convert the one-sided spruce forest into a stable mixed forest. In many areas of the forest there is already natural regeneration through young trees, which are spread by squirrels and jays.

The path to diversification

A decisive step in management took place in 2021 when the city council decided to no longer lease hunting grounds in urban forests externally, but to operate them independently. This change has already shown positive effects: less browsing damage and increased natural regeneration of the forest are the positive results. Although numerous young trees were purchased and planted in the past - around 55,000 annually, now there are only around 18,000 - the rest is now done through natural processes, as stated in various information from memmingen.de is highlighted.

But forest conversion and protection is not only on the agenda in Memmingen. According to the Umweltbundesamt, the conversion of spruce and pine monocultures into species-rich mixed forests is a compelling concern nationwide To increase the resilience of forests to heat waves and dry periods. The focus is on maintaining the interior forest climate, i.e. high humidity and low light intensity, but also the stability of the soil water balance. Mixed forests have greater adaptability and therefore offer a valuable perspective for future forestry.

On the way to climate-stable forests, it is therefore important to optimize the mix of tree species - the focus is on heat and drought-tolerant species such as black pine, sessile oak and various maple species. These adaptations make sense not only ecologically but also economically, as a diversified tree species structure minimizes the risk of pests and diseases. In addition, environmentally friendly practices, such as working with horse-drawn horses, significantly reduce the ecological footprint of forest management.

The developments in the Dickenreishauser Forest impressively show how forest conversion can be successful through sustainable forestry and clever strategies. With a good hand for nature, the foundation is laid for forward-looking, environmentally friendly forest management that will also benefit future generations. If things continue like this, it could not only become a role model for other regions, but also sustainably stimulate the discussion about climate protection.