LabForest

Due to ongoing climate change, there has not yet been sufficient interdisciplinary evaluation of important ecosystem services provided by forests in relation to different regeneration management strategies. The LabForest project therefore aims to establish a real-world laboratory in the LMU university forest for research and interdisciplinary training and further education of future specialists. The basis for this is a large-scale experiment that examines various forest conversion management strategies, particularly in disturbed areas, with regard to the ecosystem services provided and compares them in a comprehensive evaluation matrix. A broad spectrum of methods is used, ranging from field measurements to statistical and process-based modeling to remote sensing.

The evaluation matrix forms the basis for transferring the results into practice, which follows three paths:

• The transfer to science is carried out by the "Forum Zukunft Wald" (Forest Future Forum),
• The findings will be integrated into teaching in interdisciplinary courses at the participating universities and
• The transfer to the general public and to training in state and private forests is being achieved through the creation of new courses at the Bavarian Forestry School and the Bavarian State Forests.

The LMU subproject combines modern remote sensing with hydrological modeling and vegetation modeling. It is based on the areas of the experiment, whose microclimate is monitored in situ and which are flown over by drones. The drone data is used to generate key variables for forest growth, such as leaf area index and biomass. Building on this, vegetation modeling focuses on management-specific changes in the carbon pool, while the effects of forestry management on water balance, runoff formation, erosion, and water quality are investigated using hydrological models.