What does the Future Forest look like?🌲|Good Question on bark beetles, drought stress & forest fires
Drought, forest fires, and bark beetles: We have heard more and more in recent years that the forests are suffering. But how are they actually doing? Can AI help fight pests such as the bark beetle? Can literature about trees help us better understand the consequences of climate change?
This episode of Good Question explores these issues. We talk to scientists at TU Dresden – especially in Tharandt, where forestry experts conduct research and teach – about tree ring research, forest fire prevention, and bark beetle control.
Information on the interviewees:
Dr. Solvejg Nitzke, Institute of German Studies and Media Cultures 👉 https://tu-dresden.de/gsw/slk/germani...
Prof. Marieke van der Maaten-Theunissen, Chair of Forest Growth and Woody Biomass Production 👉 https://tu-dresden.de/bu/umwelt/forst...
Dr. Ernst van der Maaten, Head of DendroLab 👉 https://tu-dresden.de/bu/umwelt/forst...
Jun.-Prof. Matthias Forkel, Junior Professorship in Environmental Remote Sensing 👉 https://tu-dresden.de/bu/umwelt/geo/i...
Prof. Michael Müller, Chair of Forest Protection 👉 https://tu-dresden.de/bu/umwelt/forst...
Content:
0:00 Introduction
1:27 Forests in literature
6:40 What does drought do to forests?
12:08 Forest fires and how to prevent them
17:26 Bark beetles: How can they be contained?
22:32 Conclusion & Outro
About this series:
TU Dresden launched the Good Question video series in the summer of 2021. It explores questions pertinent to our times and answers these from different perspectives.
Summary:
Trees in literature 👉 Dr. Nitzke tells us why she is interested in trees and forests in literature and what relationship we humans actually have to trees. Literature can help us to take a closer look and recognize when something is wrong with our trees.
What does drought stress do to trees? 👉 Prof. van der Maaten-Theunissen and Dr. van der Maaten from the DendroLab in Tharandt show us how they examine the growth rings of various trees to identify changes in the forests in relation to external influences. They measure the annual ring widths, and also examine tree samples at cellular level. Their research shows that climate change can be clearly read in the annual rings.
Can we better prevent forest fires? 👉 Prof. Forkel takes us to a (fire) weather station where a small wooden stick measures the wood moisture. In combination with satellite data, this data helps him to improve forest fire prevention. He also explains what the causes of forest fires are and what methods can help to detect and contain forest fires more quickly in the future.
Pests in our forests and what we can do 👉 Prof. Müller takes us into the world of forest pests. Spruce trees in particular are infested by bark beetles. He reveals how the insects were able to spread en masse and what we can do to prevent the large-scale death of spruce trees. Moreover, he gives an insight into his current projects, where an artificial intelligence learns to recognize the scents of pests in order to detect and eliminate them more quickly.
Moderator: Karl Jeremias Donath
Editing: Anne-Ailine Krause, Karl J. Donath
Production: aha! Film
#TUDresden #Wald #Klimawandel