LIFE Prognoses aims to protect the European beech - sometimes called ‘the queen of trees’ - for future generations. But what is it about Fagus sylvatica that Europeans love so much?
The common beech once covered Europe from the arctic circle to the Mediterranean, and beech woods - known as ‘stands’ - still thrive across much of the continent. Capable of growing to 50 metres and living up to 500 years, Fagus sylvatica is a genuinely iconic species - indeed, a pair of venerable beech specimens took the top two spots in this year’s European Tree of the Year Awards.
But it’s a different story for primary and old growth beech forests, which is where LIFE Prognoses - Protection of Old-Growth forests in Europe - steps in. Experts at the €1.4 million, EU-funded four-year project say it’s important to differentiate between modern-day beech woods - said to be one of nature’s success stories - and old-growth forests, some of which have existed for millennia but were, until now, under-valued.
These remarkable old-growth forests are also crucial in the fight against climate change. UNESCO recently estimated that the ancient and primeval beech forests in the Carpathians and other regions of Europe absorb 11 tonnes of CO2 equivalent per hectare per year, ranking them among the top five natural and mixed UNESCO World Heritage sites.
‘Where would we be without the trees?’ says former EU Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius. ‘They clean the air and feed the clouds. They keep soils healthy and they are essential for our climate - and we are learning more and more about the vital role they play in protecting human health. Planting new trees is important, but so is looking after those we have - both for their natural value and for their carbon stock.’
That’s the message at the heart of LIFE Prognoses, whose mission is to map, study and raise awareness about the five ancient European beech forests in the Alps, Carpathians, Dinarides, Mediterranean and Pyrenees recognised by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites, as well as a transnational UNESCO site covering 94 ancient forests across 18 European countries.
‘We want to encourage a European-wide assessment and comparison of beech forests and, by the same token, heighten the awareness among Europeans of just how important it is to preserve Europe's last primary forests,’ explains Professor Christine Schmitt of the University of Passau in Germany and one of the lead researchers at LIFE Prognoses.
As well as pulling together the different maps and data relating to beech forests across eight Member States, LIFE Prognoses - which closes at the end of 2024 – has compiled an up-to-date assessment of the ecosystem services provided by ancient beech forests, including recreation and tourism. The project has also produced a standardised protocol to assess, evaluate and map old-growth lowland and mountain beech forests in Europe, and last year published an ‘inspiration book’ to help raise awareness about the benefits of ancient beech forests. In addition, the project organised information stands at city fairs, school exchanges and provided equipment for local guides in Germany. Meetings with local communities, forest walks, cultural activities such as concert and theatre show were held in Austria, Belgium, Italy, Slovenia and Ukraine.
One of the partners of the LIFE Prognoses project is also the Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences at CZU in Prague. The principal investigator for the faculty is prof. Ing. Miroslav Svoboda, Ph.D.
LIFE Prognoses builds on several previous EU-funded initiatives to protect and restore ancient beech forests across Europe, including LIFE Carpathian Restoration, LIFE FO3REST , LIFE ENVACTCRB and BEECH POWER. LIFE Prognoses also contributes to the European Biodiversity Strategy 2030, which includes a target of ‘protection (in space and time) of the last old-growth forests in the EU’; the Habitats and Birds Directives; and the revised Land Use, Land-use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) Regulation.
You can see more about the project and a short video about the old-growth forests here.
Source: New LIFE for Europe’s old-growth forests - European Commission