Climate-adapted forests: Insights based on historical tree distributions

Changing climatic conditions in Austria, such as the increase in mean temperatures by about 2° Celsius in the last 150 years, require new, adapted forms of forest management. Previous forest management developed at a time that was characterised by the colder climate conditions of the "Little Ice Age" and thus differed significantly from the current or future climate situation. The aim of the basic research project is to reconstruct historical changes in Austria's woody plants that can be used for forestry against the background of the prevailing climatic conditions. The main focus is on researching historical evidence as far back in time as possible (e.g. the Middle Ages) in the form of written sources and cartographic information. Data from dendrochronological investigations are also evaluated in order to record the occurrence of tree species under earlier (warmer) climatic conditions. Based on this, it will be analysed whether and which more heat-tolerant tree species were once present. The knowledge gained will serve as a basis for the discussion of future tree species compositions in climate-adapted forests of the 21st century.