The principles of natural forest management
Our entire forest management is consistently based on the principles of natural forest management, which the Aachen City Council adopted as early as 1993.
The city council decided that the then municipal forestry office should continue its forestry work:
- Create near-natural, species-rich, staggered mixed forests
- the priority of natural regeneration over planting
- Single-stem and small-area utilization, the renunciation of clear-cutting
- Increase the proportion of deciduous forest
- regulate the density of game to an acceptable level
- do without pesticides and fertilizers
- Increase the proportion of deadwood
- Promote stepped forest edges
- leave individual areas for natural development.
Natural forest management pays off
The risks posed by abiotic factors such as storms and biotic factors such as the mass proliferation of insect pests that damage the forest are decreasing. The forest is fit for the future, especially in times of climate change - ecologically oriented forest management makes economic sense and secures our livelihood.
In order to get to know and understand the natural forest dynamics, 115.45 hectares (ha) of set-aside areas (i.e. approx. five percent of the total forest area) have been designated in the Aachen forest in accordance with the criteria of the Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®-C116663). These areas are left to develop naturally - they develop without human influence. Forestry observes and documents the processes taking place in these areas and transfers the findings to the natural commercial forest. The aim is to use the natural biological processes in the entire forest area and to ensure that all forest functions are optimally safeguarded with as little effort as possible through minimal intervention - especially in young and medium-sized stands.
2023: Aachen forest certified for another five years
- In mid-June 2023, the FSC®-accredited appraisal office commissioned by the City of Aachen extensively inspected the forestry office and the Aachen forest.
- It was impressed by the qualified specialist staff, the high level of commitment to near-natural forest management as well as in the area of local recreation and the maintenance of the necessary infrastructure in the Aachen forest.
The FSC certificate
The Forestry Office of the City of Aachen is certified according to the criteria of the Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®-C116663). This certificate stands for sustainable, environmentally friendly and socially responsible forest management. The guiding principle of the FSC® is the natural forest community. Tree species, plants, animals and fungi, i.e. everything that occurs in the forest, form this system. These communities are highly resistant to external influences such as snow, storms, fire or climate change.
Forestry companies that manage their forests in accordance with the FSC® standards are guided by natural processes.
In mid-June 2023, the forestry office underwent a new examination and assessment procedure, also known as a re-certification audit. In the run-up to this year's audit, stakeholders from various forest user groups and the citizens of Aachen were asked to comment on the management of Aachen's forest.
Interest groups are informed
Throughout the year, interested parties repeatedly contact the municipal forestry office with their concerns and requests, particularly with regard to timber utilization. In most cases, these concerns relate to road safety measures along roads or buildings where older deciduous trees have to be removed, sanitary felling on calamity areas (e.g. bark beetles, storms) or felling measures on Belgian forest areas close to the border that are not under the control of the municipal forestry office.
No deviations detected
The accredited expert office (Preferred by Nature (Nepcon) from Latvia), which put the forestry office through its paces, came to the conclusion that no deviations from the FSC® Forest Standard could be identified.
The city of Aachen received the positive report from the municipal forestry office in August. Forestry office manager Dr. Gerd Krämer is very satisfied. This means that the city is still one of the municipalities that are allowed to use the FSC® seal for sustainable, near-natural and socially responsible forest management.
Further information on FSC® certification can be found on the FSC website.
The results are impressive
The forest becomes more colorful
When former monocultures become mixed forests, previously displaced tree species are given a chance. For the sake of the right mix, we sometimes cut down a spruce if it is preventing a neighboring birch or willow, an ash or rowan from developing.
Forests are becoming denser
Permanent forest is a "family forest": In it, all generations - from seedlings to old trees - grow side by side. For the forest visitor, this can sometimes be an obscure thing. To compensate for this, we repeatedly open up striking views along the hiking trails.
Trees get older and thicker
Provided the wood is of good quality, the marketing value increases as the trunk diameter increases. We therefore also have an economic interest in keeping the trees as old and thick as possible. As a welcome side effect, older forests are also ecologically more valuable and richer in species.
The forest looks less tidy
We leave wood that cannot be used commercially - top pieces, rootstocks or even dead trees - in the forest. This "dead wood" is an important habitat for many endangered animals, fungi and lichens. It decomposes and flows back into the nutrient cycle. And, incidentally, this also reduces our costs.