Forest stand productivity derived from site conditions: an assessment of old Douglas-fir stands ( (Mirb.) Franco var. ) in Central Europe.

Key Message:

Context: Tree species selection is one of the most important forest management decisions to enhance forest productivity and stand stability on a given site. Douglas-fir ( (Mirb.) Franco var. ), a non-native species from north-western America, is seen as an important additional species option for adapting Central European forests to a changing climate.

Aims: This study assesses Douglas-fir forest productivity derived from site conditions. We investigate climatic and physico-chemical soil characteristics and productivity of 28 mature Douglas-fir stands growing on siliceous, as well as carbonate bedrock material in southern Germany and north-eastern Austria.

Methods: The importance of climatic and physico-chemical soil characteristics was analyzed with the machine learning method .

Results: The results show that Douglas-fir growth correlates with climate, soil moisture, and soil nutrient availability derived from ten climatic and physico-chemical soil parameters.

Conclusion: The broad pH optimum between 4.5 and 7.2 reflects the broad physiological amplitude of Douglas-fir, and no significant differences were detectable between carbonate and siliceous bedrock. We also conclude that climate change may induce a forest stand productivity decline, because lower productivity with the highest mean summer temperature across our study range was observed at the warmest sites in Eastern Austria.