LifeSPAN

Traditional forest management today is still focused on maximizing continuous timber production. It has led to a reduction in structural heterogeneity, deadwood volume, and microhabitat availability, and thus in biodiversity. This is even more true for xylobiont biodiversity, i.e., species that are mandatorily dependent on dead wood or other deadwood-bound organisms at least at one stage of their life cycle. This often neglected group of species accounts for up to 30% of the biological diversity in the forest.

The main objective of the LIFE SPAN project is to develop and test management approaches that can conserve forest biodiversity by integrating existing approaches. The focus here is on xylobiont species. Management solutions aimed at conserving habitats and species of community interest associated with deadwood will be implemented and monitored through an innovative forest planning and management approach. Attention is always paid to the economic sustainability of the proposed interventions.