Datensatz

Zusammenfassung

The impact of historical and present drivers on forest biodiversity is poorly understood. A better understanding
is mandatory to ensure conservation and appropriate
management of biodiversity and ecosystem functions
in the face of climate warming and increasing demand for
wood products. Here, we assess forest management
strategies for maintaining plant biodiversity in Central
European beech forests, with a focus on Germany. We
show that (1) diversity of the German vascular plant flora
increased exponentially during the Holocene reaching 3874
species mainly through apomictic and hybrid speciation.
Vascular plant species confined to forests comprise about
10 % of this flora. No loss in vascular plants restricted to
forests occured over the past 250 years despite of forest
management; (2) the indigenous arboreal flora has a low
diversity (64 tree species) compared with other continents
due to environmental changes in the last 2 million years;
(3) forest management has maintained a high plant diversity
in the past. It should be an aim of silviculture to ensure
this in the future; and (4) only 22 of the indigenous tree
species are commercially used; nine of these commercially
used species are threatened by diseases. We introduce the
concept of palaeo-neophytes to address genera that existed
in Central Europe during the latest Cenozoic. The introduction
of species of palaeo-neophytic genera and sub-
Mediterranean species is discussed as a measure to buffer
negative effects on native species caused by climate change and spread of novel diseases.