South Korea learns from East Tyrol: Focus on sustainable forest management

South Korea learns from East Tyrol: Focus on sustainable forest management

The South Korean forestry authority visited the Nikolsdorf State Forestry Garden in East Tyrol on an important mission to find out about the forestry expertise there. This meeting shows that there is an increasing focus on the needs of the forestry industry worldwide. The delegation requested insights into the procedures for harvesting, processing, storing and selling tree seeds. LHStv forestry officer Josef Geisler emphasized that Tyrol makes a significant contribution to global forest conservation through its commitment to climate-fit and sustainable forestry. Loud tt.com The State Forest Garden is the only center in western Austria that specializes in the extraction and storage of seeds from various tree species.

Forests as a basis for life

In Tyrol, forests fulfill several important functions. They are not only economically valuable through the use of wood, but also offer protection for habitats and fulfill a recreational function for the population. In addition, they shape the landscape and provide a habitat for numerous plant and animal species. Around 42 percent of Tyrol's total area is forested, which corresponds to 529,000 hectares. These areas are managed by around 35,000 forest owners. The Tyrolean Chamber of Agriculture points out that 364,000 hectares, i.e. around 70 percent of the forest area, have a protective function for the population.

An active contribution to climate fit

Tyrol launched the “Climate-Fit Mountain Forest” program in 2019, which supports forest owners in transforming their forests. Florian Stocker from the State Forest Garden emphasizes that active forest management is crucial to increasing the forest's resilience to natural hazards. In 2020 alone, over 1.1 million trees were made available for reforestation - a number that is expected to rise to over 1.9 million by 2024. This is significant because large areas have been damaged by storms and bark beetles.

As part of the country's forestry efforts, there are also plans to build a new seed house to meet increasing demand. Tyrol's forests grow by around 6.9 cubic meters per hectare of productive forest annually, while only 6.3 cubic meters are harvested - this means that the wood supply increases by around 250,000 cubic meters annually.

Why forestry is important

Forestry in Tyrol is not only economically sensible, but also ecologically necessary. The protective forests make an enormous contribution to protection against natural hazards and are cost-effective: According to the Austrian Court of Auditors, the cost of maintaining them is in a ratio of 1:15:146. Spruce, which makes up around 48 percent of the tree population, is also an important tree species in focus, followed by larch with around 8 percent.

For more information on the activities and objectives in the field of forestry, the website of Climate-friendly forest be visited. It becomes clear here that the responsible use and care of the forests in Tyrol is not only of local but also global importance.