This dissertation investigates how European forests are affected by climate change, how forest practitioners perceive and respond to these impacts, and how adaptation and reforestation strategies shape the visual aesthetics of forest landscapes. By combining biophysical evidence, qualitative practitioner insights, expert assessments, and public preference assessments, the thesis develops a comprehensive understanding of forests as socio-ecological systems under increasing climate stress. Across Europe, the 2018–2022 drought period caused widespread vitality loss, intensified pest outbreaks, and substantial tree cover decline, with Central Europe experiencing the most severe impacts. Damage patterns differed markedly among regions, yet even typically resilient or high-altitude forests showed signs of stress. Persistent effects in climatically average years highlight legacy effects of drought and heat events. These findings underline Europe’s high forest vulnerability and the need for region-specific adaptation strategies. Forest practitioners widely acknowledge drought as the dominant threat to forest health, citing its effects on mortality, regeneration, and pest susceptibility. Although there is broad consensus on the need to increase species and structural diversity for adaptation, substantial differences in preferred measures persist across practitioner groups. Economically oriented practitioners tend to favor active, conifer-based management, whereas those prioritizing protection and recreation advocate for native species and more naturalistic approaches. These contrasting strategies stem not from differing views on climate impacts but from divergent management philosophies and value orientations, illustrating that adaptation is as much a social negotiation as it is the management of ecological systems. The dissertation further shows that climate change adaptation measures profoundly influence the aesthetic quality of forests—an often neglected but socially important dimension. Structural attributes such as tree size, height variation, understory density, and species composition strongly shape visual appeal. Measures that enhance structural diversity—mixed stands, multi-layered canopies, increased naturalness—tend to improve aesthetics. In contrast, interventions like leaving residues, using protective tubes, or uniform reforestation can temporarily reduce scenic quality, though many negative effects diminish as forests mature. Public preference analysis demonstrates significant temporal dynamics: reforestation strategies that appear unattractive shortly after implementation may become appealing decades later, while options that are initially appealing may lose their attractiveness over time. This highlights the importance of evaluating aesthetic outcomes across the full forest development cycle rather than at a single moment in time. Taken together, the findings underscore that climate adaptation in forestry must integrate ecological risks, practitioner perspectives, and public aesthetic values. By recognizing forests as co-evolving socio-ecological systems, the dissertation provides a foundation for adaptation strategies that are not only ecologically effective but also socially acceptable and visually appreciated—essential conditions for sustaining multifunctional forests in a changing climate.
Paul Averbeck (Thu,) studied this question.