70-year-old experimental plantation in Copera (Southern Alps, Switzerland) where the resilience to drought of more than 50 native and non-native tree species can be tested and compared with the surrounding near-natural and highly species-rich mixed forests (photo by A. Rigling, ETH Zürich) A recently published article examines how rising climate uncertainty is reshaping forest management...
Article by Dr. Stefanie Linser (BOKU) Across Europe, forests are expected to do more than ever: protect wildlife, cope with climate change, provide many benefits to people, and stay healthy in a rapidly changing environment. Meeting all these demands means working with the natural complexity of forests rather than trying to simplify it. In the TRANSFORMIT project,...
Michael Healy-Rae TD, Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, delivers a warm welcome address to open the 11th Integrate Network Annual Meeting. Minister Healy-Rae is pictured addressing delegates during a visit to the forest at the Teagasc National Research Centre in Oak Park, where participants explored the local marteloscope...
In early October, the Integrate Network representatives gathered in Dublin, Ireland, for their annual meeting – a few autumn days brought together forest owners, researchers, policymakers, and practitioners from across Europe. They came with a shared mission: to learn from each other’s successes and challenges in Integrative Forest Management (IFM) practices. Among the many productive...
Article written by Katharina Freund, Theresa Frei, Hannah Ertelt (European Forest Institute) How can genuine dialogue about forests succeed? This question stood at the beginning of the Martelkom project and became the starting point for its new guide “Forest Dialogues”, developed at the European Forest Institute (EFI) together with colleagues from the Forest Research Institute Baden-Württemberg...
Last week, the Integrate Network hosted its 11th Integrate Network Annual Meeting in Dublin. Under this year’s Irish chairmanship, the event brought together forest owners, policymakers, researchers, and practitioners from across Europe to exchange on Integrative Forest Management (IFM) practices that balance biodiversity, resilience, and multifunctionality in managed forests. Aside from expert presentations on integrating biodiversity conservation...
“It’s the exchange of experience in many different ways – to learn from each other, and even to build friendships,” reflects Johannes Shima, Deputy Director General of the Forest Section at Austria’s Ministry for Agriculture. That is the promise of the Integrate Network: a place where forests become the classroom and countries learn together. It’s...
It’s a misty Tuesday afternoon in June at the ETH Hönggerberg Campus in Zurich. Participants of our Swiss Integrate Network workshop have geared up in waterproof clothes and are ready for a few more hours of outdoor fun at the so-called “Waldlabor” – a unique forest area on the outskirts of the city. Diverse learning...
What makes ecoparks special? Swedish ecoparks are unique for their large, contiguous landscapes where ecological values are prioritized, often exceeding 50% of the area dedicated to nature conservation. They also include older forests than most of Sveaskog’s forest landscapes: 52% of forests in ecoparks are over a century old, while only 15% of forests outside...
In Auberive, northeastern France, a shift in forest management began in the 1990s when local communities raised concerns over increasing clearcuts and their impact on the landscape. These conversations marked the beginning of a long-term transition towards more ecological and socially responsive forest practices. Over the past two decades, Auberive has adopted Continuous Cover Forestry...
