Research

The overall aim of this project is to provide practical guidance on the successful restoration of native forests in the Ethiopian highlands. To address this, we will use an approach that will strengthen the supply of native tree species, combined with investigations of establishment of this material in tree species diverse plantations. This will be realized by strengthening the national reproductive material supply by establishment of seedling seed orchards of the target species (Juniperus procera, Prunus africana, Podocarpus gracilior, Albizia gummifera, Olea europaea sub sp. cuspidata, Cordia africana, Millettia ferruginea), methods of vegetative propagation (primarily for Juniperus procera but also for other species), and investigation of the growth of the target species in the tree species diverse plots. In the plots, the mineral nutrient requirements tree species and plant protection methods to aid successful establishment will be addressed. The HIGH FIVE project will build on the experience and data gained in previous projects by the consortium, which is made up of two Austrian partners, the Federal Research and Training Centre for Forests, Natural Hazards and Landscape (BFW) and the University of Natural Resources and Life Science (BOKU), and the Ethiopian Forest Development agency (EFD) and Bahir Dar University (BDU) from Ethiopia, and the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) from Kenya.

How can our mountain forests in the Northern Alps be proactively adapted to climate change? In the project, transnationally coordinated information systems will be developed, which will provide forest owners with practical recommendations and best practice examples for the treatment of mountain forests in the 21st century. As a basis, the site factors and forest types in the Northern Alps, which have been worked out in previous Interreg projects, will be dynamized with regard to climate. In afforestation trials and natural regeneration areas from previous projects (including Interreg), the medium-term survival rate and development of various tree species will be documented. In addition, new trials with further tree species, including guest tree species, will be set up and silvicultural measures in old stands will be tested. On this basis, strategies and concepts for the proactive adaptation of mountain forests to climate change will be jointly developed and integrated into operational and official information systems and silvicultural practice aids.

Mountain areas are characterized by small-scaled complex, dynamic, socio-ecological conditions and human-environment interactions which impact environmental services. The proposed interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary project will investigate the influence of historical and current land use practices, especially among forests, on runoff generation in order to better distinguish it from the effects of climate change for the periods around 1850, 1960 and 2020. IFE will contribute to the quantification of secondary forest use impacts by experimental and laboratory approaches in test catchments and co-supervision of a PhD candidate.