the residents of Zurich are sensitive when it comes to the topic of the forest and the trees. The white Felix Keller, managing Director of the Association of forest owners “forest of Zurich”. “People are afraid that the forest could be destroyed or disappear, when you fall trees,” says the forest engineer. Especially in an urban environment a certain amount of alienation “to the forest management according to Keller”. “Although people use the forests around Zurich for over 5000 years.” to convey
the population, such as forest management works, “forest of Zurich” together with the city and Canton of Zurich, the ETH Zurich, the Swiss Federal research Institute for forest, snow and landscape, as well as the Association of Zurich’s forestry staff for a forest lab launched – the first of its kind in Switzerland. 27. February, the Association was established with representatives of the six institutions, in the middle of June the opening ceremony.
An open-air Museum of forest Economics
The forest lab is located on a 150 hectare piece of forest, the city and the Canton of Zurich, the Association for a period of 100 years for the project, leave. It is a kind of open-air Museum, in the historical, current and future forms of forest management are shown. Also an Arboretum with over 250 different Central European tree and shrub species will arise over the years in the forest laboratory, because the project grows naturally. In 20 to 30 years, the Whole to develop its full splendor.
Rare tree species for the Arboretum: In the forest lab wild service tree, wild pear and Rowan planted. (Image: Andreas Bernasconi PAN Bern)
According to Keller, the forest lab, among other things, to convey the influence of the management of so-called culture of forests on biodiversity. A cultivated forest is the counterpart to the natural forest, in which the removal of wood and other forestry are prohibited economic activities in the Canton of Zurich this is in part areas of the Sihlwalds the case. The diversity of species in a dense overgrown forest is not greater than in a culture forest, says Keller. For a high level of species diversity, it need a lot of light on the forest floor. “This Precipitation may be necessary.”
visitors can get yourself a hand
a practical access to the processes of forest management to visitors in the forest lab get hands-on by helping, for example, in the fight against neophytes or for the maintenance of the forest paths, in the case of the young forest management and wildlife damage prevention. The forest will also serve for research purposes. “We want to be on a sub-area of the area tree types of test that can flourish under the changed climatic conditions. For example, the chestnut trees, was previously only available in the Canton of Ticino, which can now grow due to the climate warming in the North”, says forestry engineer basement.
“We want to be in the forest, laboratory of tree types of test that can flourish under the changed climatic conditions.” Forestry engineer Felix Keller,
managing Director of “forest Zurich”
Later, should forest, the Area also for the purpose of training for apprentices and students of the ETH and the University of applied Sciences of Agricultural, and food Sciences Zollikofen in Bern, which is also involved in the project, will be used. Forest owners can, in turn, inform themselves of events of the various research departments of the latest developments in the forestry sector.
money from the lottery Fund
The idea for this lab came up six years ago. “We wanted to about the 100-year anniversary Stay make of our Association for generations to come-something. In Workshops and with the management Board and members of the Association together with representatives of the city and of the Canton of Zurich the concept for the forest lab developed,” says Keller.
The Zurich cantonal Council to the concept in such a way that he has approved for the forest laboratory in December 2017 with a contribution of 500’000 Swiss francs from the lottery Fund. A third of the area of the Canton of Zurich was covered with forest, according to gross, is its importance as a living and recreational space as well as floor space, was he at the time of the decision. With the forest laboratory, a good and useful tool is created in order to promote the understanding of forest management, commends the government for the project. In addition to the contribution from the lottery Fund, various sources contribute properties to the project. In addition, according to cellar well-known sponsors. “We hope that patrons will participate.”
Although the forest laboratory has the Information of the population, there will be no shield to forest, and insured basement. “We want to inform the visitor about digital media that can be accessed for example, via a QR Code. At best, we will assemble in the forest, access panels, on which we point to the project.” Other infrastructures are not planned, because “it is ultimately an experience of nature”. (Tages-Anzeiger)
Created: 01.03.2019, 16:44 PM
