“Today, there is no longer discussion about the general value of dead wood. Now the discussion is only about how, when, and where to preserve it”
This clear observation, which looks to the future from the past, concludes the final documentary of the Life SPAN project, produced by Compagnia delle Foreste in Italy and Germany at two pilot sites (Cansiglio Forest and Sailershausen University Forest).
The statement is made by Jörg Müller, professor of conservation biology and forest ecology at the University of Würzburg and narrator of the approximately 20-minute video, which tells the story of the “competition between humans and saproxylic organisms”, the importance of deadwood for various species and for the overall balance of forest ecosystems, and, finally, the concrete proposal of the project.
Through an integrative and non-segregative approach, Life SPAN proposes the creation, within managed forests, of a network of “Saproxylic Habitat Sites” (SHS): areas of senescence in which to recreate conditions like those of old-growth forests, with large trees, deadwood of various kinds, and open areas. “The presence of a network of SHSs promotes the movement and dispersal of different saproxylic species”, explains project coordinator Bruno De Cinti of CNR-IRET in the video. In this way, it is possible to combine socio-economic functions with the protection of habitats and species.
The documentary is not only a summary of four years of the project, but also a way to “develop a better eye” as Daniel Kraus, manager of the Sailershausen forest, explains, on those forest elements that, in classical silviculture, were often forgotten if not opposed, such as microhabitats and deadwood.
