Assessing the impacts of transient forest edges on biophysical conditions and regeneration in the forest interior (T-EDGE)

• Applicants: Professorin Dr. Lisa Hülsmann; Dr. Katja Kowalski
• Subject Area: Forestry
• Term: since 2025
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 556375187

The increasing disturbances in the forests of Central Europe, particularly as a result of heat and drought, are progressively creating forest edges around disturbed areas. So-called transient forest edges disappear over time, but their effects can extend beyond the disturbed areas into neighboring forests. Increased temperatures, more light, greater evapotranspiration and changes in forest structure and regeneration are the result. In view of current disturbance trends, transient forest edges are becoming the most important forest edge type in Central Europe and impact large parts of the forest area. Our aim is to investigate the effects of transient forest edges on biophysical conditions and regeneration in the forest interior. At the local scale, we aim to gain a mechanistic understanding of the effects of transient forest edges. To this end, vegetation structure, temperature and regeneration at transient forest edges will be measured and analyzed in relation to each other along transects in a model region (Fichtelgebirge, Bavaria/Germany). This will allow us to assess how forests and their microclimate are affected by neighboring disturbances and how regeneration in the forest interior responds to different biophysical conditions. On a large scale, we will analyze the effects of transient forest edges on the forest interior using remote sensing data and national forest inventories for the whole of Germany. The spatial analyses will show how recent disturbance waves have affected forest structure and microclimatic conditions. Similarly, we will analyze how the amount and species composition of forest regeneration in Germany has changed as a result of disturbances and the associated increase in transient forest edges, and how these changes can be evaluated in terms of tree species suitability under climate change. Our proposal addresses the impacts of climate change on forest ecosystems and their dynamics, and the resulting implications for the adaptive capacity of future forests in Europe.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants