At its meeting today, the Chemnitz City Council adopted the forest management plan for the years 2025 to 2034 for the municipal forest of the City of Chemnitz. This formulates the current state of the forest, maps the medium-term planning in the municipal forest (e.g. intensity of maintenance interventions, number of interventions per decade and regeneration planning) and monitors sustainability in operations. It is therefore an important management and planning tool for forestry operations.
With a forestry operating area of 1,541 hectares, the city of Chemnitz currently has the fifth largest municipal forestry operation in the Free State of Saxony. It consists of two districts: The Zeisigwald district is mainly located in the city of Chemnitz, the Saidenbach district mainly in the Erzgebirgskreis.
An inventory has shown that the municipal forest of the city of Chemnitz is developing positively. Compared to 2015, the proportion of stands over 100 years old has increased from 287 ha to 331 ha. This has a very positive effect on the protective and recreational function of the forest, as old trees have more habitats and a higher diversity of moss, lichen, fungi, insect and breeding bird species. A decrease in the proportion of conifers from 44 per cent to 33 per cent and a corresponding increase in the proportion of deciduous trees by around 11 per cent shows that the composition of tree species is adapting to climate change. The proportion of spruce has fallen significantly from 34 per cent to around 25 per cent.
As long-term economic goals in the municipal forest, the forest management plan stipulates, among other things, that the forests in the Chemnitz conurbation should be preserved and managed primarily as a recreational area for the population, while the forests around the Saidenbach dam should primarily safeguard the water quality in the catchment area of the dam. Due to the ongoing climate changes, species appropriate to the location are to be used for regeneration and invasive, alien tree species are to be avoided.
The measures specified in the forest management plan will be gradually incorporated into future budget and financial planning. They will be implemented taking into account the available budget and funding.
English
Choose