Reforestation Under Climate Change-A Cross-Regional Deadwood Retention Experiment to Develop Multifunctional Forests...

Extreme events such as droughts, heatwaves, storms, and the associated intensification of bark beetle outbreaks in Norway spruce forests in recent years have led to large-scale forest loss in Central Europe. Various options for post-disturbance management exist, from complete clearing to no intervention, but their pros and cons in the context of multifunctional forest management remain unresolved. The interdisciplinary "ResEt-Fi" project ("Pioneering reforestation: Regional management for establishing multifunctional forests on post-disturbed Norway spruce areas") comprises a cross-regional field trial to test how specific practices of deadwood retention affect the ecological conditions and subsequent reforestation of natural and artificial regeneration. It aims at generating climate-stable mixed forests, balancing ecosystem functioning and socio-economic benefits. Rather than presenting a conventional empirical study with finalized results, we reflect upon an integrated and transferable research framework for investigating post-disturbance forest management across spatial scales. We present the rationale behind different deadwood management strategies, the nested experimental design of the cross-regional field trial, the ecological response framework, upscaling approaches, and future perspectives. Based on this scientific foundation, evidence-based recommendations and application scenarios can be developed to support forest managers and other stakeholders in selecting site-specific post-disturbance management strategies.