VR 360° - Kalamitätsflächen unteres Odertal

A current threat is the danger of forest fire. Due to the high proportion of deadwood on the calamity areas and the lack of internal forest climate for cooling, the risk of uncontrolled forest fire is high and should be anticipated accordingly by a fire protection concept, increased alertness and very good equipment of the fire department. The acute risk of forest fire decreases with progressive succession and deadwood decomposition, but will remain high due to the changed climatic conditions.

Beside the increased risk of wild fires the dense supply of dead wood left on the site has some positive effects on natural regeneration. It provides a barrier and possible hiding place for predators, which deters deer and protects the natural regeneration from browsing. Dead wood also stores moisture, which cools the stand. Finally, it is a diverse habitat in both standing and lying condition, providing biodiversity, which is a prerequisite for an adaptive stand.

Due to the exclusion of the stands from commercial use, an exciting situation arises. The dying forest is not cleared or even reforested by planting, but left in its decay stages. While the decline of the planted forest is rapid, a natural regeneration situation is created at the same time, which we would hardly experience in such a way in a commercial forest. In a dense thicket of lying and standing deadwood a vegetation arises consiting of: Sambucus racemosa, Sambucus nigra, Rubus idaeus, Prunus spinosa, Prunus serotina, Crataegus spec. Urtica spec. and Calamagrostis epigeos. A vegetation that, due to its ecological characteristics, is more likely to be found in transitional areas at the edge of the forest.