Bavarian State Institute for Forests and Forestry

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Bavarian State Institute for Forests and Forestry
- LWF -

Logo of the Bavarian State Institute for Forests and Forestry.gif
State level Free State of Bavaria
position Agricultural research institute
Supervisory authority Bavarian State Ministry for Food, Agriculture and Forests
founding 1881/1993
Headquarters Freising-Weihenstephan campus
Authority management Olaf Schmidt, President
Servants around 180
Web presence www.lwf.bayern.de
The LWF as part of the Wald-Forst-Holz center

The Bavarian State Institute for Forests and Forestry (LWF) on the Weihenstephan campus in Freising is a special authority of the Bavarian Forest Administration in the division of the Bavarian State Ministry for Food, Agriculture and Forests . The state institute has around 180 employees who deal with forest research and forestry.

history

Information offered by the LWF
Forest-forest-wood center, office

In 1881, King Ludwig II founded the Royal Bavarian Research Institute in Munich. At the beginning of the 19th century, the need arose to scientifically examine and substantiate the lessons learned from practical experience.

August Ganghofer , who later became the head of the Bavarian State Forestry Administration, had the task of setting up the forestry experimental system in Bavaria and the organization of the research institute. The departments of the research institute were headed by university professors of forestry.

In 1979 the "Forestry Research and Research Institute" became independent and expanded to become a departmental research facility of the Bavarian Forest Administration. When it was relocated to Freising in 1993, the facility was given the new name - Bavarian State Institute for Forests and Forestry . In 2005, further tasks were assigned to her with the reform of the forest administration .

In 2003 the LWF founded the Center Wald-Forst-Holz Weihenstephan together with TUM and the Weihenstephan-Triesdorf University of Applied Sciences, which is supposed to bundle competencies and resources in research, teaching, advice and knowledge transfer and to release synergy effects .

Task in the 21st century

As a research facility of the Bavarian Forest Administration, the Bavarian State Institute for Forestry and Forestry (LWF) wants to conduct applied research and development work as a basis for sustainable, i.e. competitive, ecological and socially acceptable management of the forest. It wants to provide forestry practice and the public with new findings from research and long-term studies in order to ensure the maintenance and strengthening of the various forest functions.

In its function as a service point, the LWF wants to support the Bavarian State Ministry for Food, Agriculture and Forests (StMELF) and the other forest authorities in fulfilling their tasks.

organization

The Bavarian State Institute for Forests and Forestry (LWF) is headed by the President and the Vice-President, who are supported by administrative, controlling and staff departments.

The LWF is divided into the following eight departments:

  • Department 1: Information Technology
  • Department 2: Soil and Climate
  • Department 3: Silviculture and Mountain Forests
  • Department 4: Forest technology, business administration, wood
  • Department 5: Forest Protection
  • Department 6: Biodiversity, Nature Conservation, Hunting
  • Department 7: Forest ownership, advice, forest policy
  • Department 8: Knowledge transfer, public relations, forest education

The staff units for “Personnel, Administration”, “Controlling, Project Management”, “Staff, Research Funding” and “Legal Advice” as well as the office of the Center Wald-Forst-Holz Weihenstephan are directly assigned to the Presidium .

Areas of activity of the departments

Intensive forest environmental monitoring (level 2) at a forest climate station in
Bavaria managed by the LWF

Forest IT

The information technology department is responsible for setting up and operating the PCs at the workstations, the software used and the network, as well as the central databases at the LWF. In addition, EDV does conceptual work and development of specialist applications in cooperation with other departments, especially in the areas of databases and WebGIS. The central office of the Bavarian Forest Administration is here for the topics of forest remote sensing, BayWIS and GIS. As part of projects, the technical developments in these areas are continuously monitored, co-designed and implemented in an application-oriented manner.

Soil and climate

More than almost any other branch of the economy, forestry is dependent on the given environmental conditions. It is only possible and economical to actively improve the growth conditions of the trees to a very limited extent. Rather, it is important in forestry to choose the optimal tree species and forms of cultivation for the given soil and climatic conditions. Knowledge of the current and future site conditions is a prerequisite for this. In the Soil and Climate Department of the LWF, the site conditions are recorded on various spatiotemporal scale levels. Here you have to face the challenges that global change brings with it: Climate change, soil depletion and soil eutrophication are the most important issues.

Silviculture and mountain forest

Beech forest in the Spessart

As a central element of sustainable forestry, silviculture in the plains and mountains has the task of maintaining existing forests and cultivating new forests. In doing so, taking into account all forest functions, the highest possible long-term yield should be achieved and at the same time the stability of the forest stands against abiotic and biotic damaging events should be improved. In addition to particularly long-term thinking, silvicultural activity requires a fundamental understanding of the processes in the forest ecosystem. It includes all management measures and forms the key to the development of sustainable, economically and ecologically balanced forest stands. Silviculture pursues the goal of securing and improving the growth and stability of forest stands.

Forest technology, business administration, wood

The forest provides the most important renewable raw material and fuel, wood. Many thousands of people work in companies that process wood from local forests. How much wood do our forests produce? How can it be obtained in the most natural and rational way possible? Which branches of industry use which amounts of wood? Here you will find the wide range of topics in our department.

Forest protection

Windthrow in a spruce forest

Forest protection is a core competence of the Bavarian Forest Administration. The Bavarian forests are the natural habitat of numerous species. These also include species that can destroy forest stands. In addition to the native harmful organisms, new ones are constantly being added through global trade. The emerging climate change makes it increasingly easier for them to establish themselves. In order to be able to detect damage to the forest in good time and prevent irreversible damage to the stand, we carry out species-specific monitoring procedures for various harmful organisms and advise forest owners on measures to minimize risk. This is done in close cooperation with the Offices for Food, Agriculture and Forests (ÄELF), the Bavarian State Forests (BaySF) and the State Agency for Agriculture (LfL) as the official plant protection service.

Advising forestry practice on topics relevant to forest protection is one of the main focuses of the Forest Protection Department. In training courses, lectures and publications, we pass on current knowledge to forest personnel and interested forest owners. Therefore our research is mainly practice-oriented. Only in this way can current knowledge about “old” and “new” harmful organisms as well as new methods of preservation flow into the advice and knowledge transfer.

Biodiversity, nature conservation, hunting

The whole thing is more than the sum of its parts. This statement is particularly true in nature. Up to 14,000 animal, 6,000 plant and 5,000 large mushroom species do not add up to the reason for the feeling that people often feel in the forest. The interplay of the diversity of life with soil, water and climate results in a whole that must be understood in order to be able to protect and use it effectively. The Biodiversity, Nature Conservation, Hunting Department at the LWF fulfills the legal mandate of further developing sustainable and near-natural forestry on the basis of its ecological principles through advice, research and monitoring. It is necessary to research potential uses and risks.

Forest ecological research reveals ecological connections, provides information about the stresses on the forest due to external influences and information on the possibilities and limits of forestry use. The necessary data basis is created through inventories and the observation of species and habitats. Area information systems such as the mapping of Natura 2000 habitats represent important planning bases that are directly incorporated into the design of our forests.

Forest ownership, advice, forest policy

Oak veneer trunk from the Spessart

Our society is connected to the forest in many ways. It takes advantage of its welfare effects and makes corresponding demands on the conservation and management of the forest - important reasons to deal intensively with the topic of "forest and society". With around 2.56 million hectares, Bavaria is forested to a third of its area, making it one of the most forested federal states. The forest protects against natural hazards such as avalanches, landslides and floods. It is a habitat for wild animals and an adventure and recreational space for our civilized society. The sustainable use of the renewable raw material wood is a question of common sense against the background of climate change, energy shortages and environmental threats.

The forest owners are therefore supported in the management of the forest by the Bavarian Forest Administration. The Bavarian Forest Administration provides help for self-help through advice aimed at the common good, professional training and financial support and thus contributes to multifunctional, sustainable and near-natural forest management for the benefit of the forest, forest owners and society in Bavaria.

Knowledge transfer - knowledge for practice

Forest owners, forestry practitioners and decision-makers are faced with constantly changing framework conditions and new challenges, for example due to technical progress or climate change. On the other hand, broad sections of society follow events around the forest very carefully, but are sometimes critical of its management. They are all interested in objective information on these issues. New scientific knowledge about the forest and its management must therefore reach forest practice and society in an understandable and applicable form. Our civilized society, which is increasingly remote from nature, rarely has the opportunity to experience forest and wilderness up close. She also faces the use of nature with less and less understanding. Forest education and forest education try to close this gap.

Activities and research

Bavarian Forest National Park - natural forest for us humans
FFH area near Schöllnach, Lkrs. Deggendorf
  • State-wide forest observation :

20 forest climate stations and 56 permanent soil observation areas, the systematic crown condition survey, bark beetle observations and periodic inventories such as the soil condition survey provide a picture of the condition of the forest as forest environmental observation . Long-term developments and protection concepts for the forest are derived from this.

  • Optimization of forest management :

The LWF's task is to support forest owners in optimizing forest management in Bavaria by improving the profitability of their operations while maintaining forest sustainability . The research results of practical forestry are made available in the form of silvicultural treatment strategies, recommendations for forest maintenance and regeneration, for soil-conserving and rational use of machines. Forest inventories and business or socio-economic studies such as the “Forestry test network” provide forest owners and decision-makers with decision-making aids. To secure the common good functions of the forest, recommendations for sustainable forest management are developed, as well as concepts for protective forest or wildlife regulation and strategies for water and soil protection .

  • Wood energy :

One focus of the LWF's research and consulting activities is in the areas of wood energy and the provision of wood chips .

  • Pest monitoring and control :

Animal, vegetable and fungal pests on forest trees such as bark beetles and oak processionary moths and their development are monitored, the LWF advises on control measures and provides organizational support.

  • Natura 2000 :

The LWF technically controls Natura 2000 in the forest in Bavaria. Working aids and mapping instructions are created in order to record habitat types and species that are worth protecting. The mapping teams on site are trained.

  • Natural forest reserve research :

The LWF currently looks after the 159 natural forest reserves in Bavaria. To this end, it coordinates the scientific work, conducts its own research and publishes research results.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Department of Forest Management on the StMELF website , accessed on April 29, 2018.
  2. Forests is our topic, LWF website accessed on April 29, 2018
  3. ^ Organization chart of the LWF , accessed on April 29, 2018.
  4. ^ "Information technology" on the LWF website , accessed on April 29, 2018.
  5. ^ “Soil and Climate” on the LWF website , accessed on April 29, 2018.
  6. "Silviculture and Mountain Forest" on the LWF website , accessed on April 29, 2018.
  7. ^ "Forest technology, business management, wood" on the LWF website, accessed on April 29, 2018
  8. ^ "Forest protection" on the LWF website , accessed on April 29, 2018.
  9. ^ "Biodiversity" on the LWF website , accessed on April 29, 2018.
  10. ^ "Forest ownership - forest policy" on the LWF website , accessed on April 29, 2018.
  11. ^ "Knowledge transfer" on the LWF website , accessed on April 29, 2018.

Coordinates: 48 ° 23 '59.4 "  N , 11 ° 43' 1.6"  E