Forster, B.; Knizek, M.; Grodzki, W. (eds.) 1999: Methodology of Forest Insect and Disease Survey in Central Euro e ofth_e Second Workshop of the IUFRO WP 7.03.10, April20-23, 1999, Sion-Chiiteauneuf, Switzerlanl ·
Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL) 13-16. ·
FOREST PROTECTION IN SWITZERLAND
Christoph Zahn, Swiss Agency for the Environment, Forests and Landscape (SAEFL), Swiss Forest Agency (SFA), CH-3003 Berne
Switzerland
Switzerland is a Confederation consisting of 26 cantons that covers 41'285 km2 with 6.9 mio inhabitants. The cantons have kept a great deal of independence with a large number of com- petencies regarding legislation and administration. Geographically Switzerland can be divided into 5 regions: Jura, Plateau, Pre-Alps, Alps and Southern slopes of the Alps. This division is justified in many ways: not only does each of these regions have a typical topography and climate, but each differs from the other in regard to political and social structures, such as population density, degree of industrialisation etc.
Forest and Forestry Service
Nearly a third of Switzerland's surface is covered by forest, amounting to 1.234 mio ha. The most important species in Swiss forests are spruce, beech and fir. The largest proportion of spruce is in the Pre-Alps and the Alps, where it represents half the tree. Even in the Plateau, where it seldom occurs naturally, spruce makes up 37% of all the forest trees. The fir trees, between 13 to 18% of the number of the trees, mostly grow in the montane zones of the Jura, the Plateau and the Pre-Alps. Beech is predominant in the Jura and the Plateau, where it rep- resents between a quarter and a third of the total number of trees. All the forests are managed or supervised by the forestry service. In Switzerland the forestry service is divided into two distinct levels of responsibility, the federal and the cantonal level. Forestry policy at the na- tional level is determined by the Confederation, which is responsible for overseeing the proper implementation of forestry legislation. The cantons on the other hand are expected to decide the exact nature of forestry regulations, and to enforce the law within their territory.
Two federal institutes are charged with research in the forestry
-The Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (FSL) mainly works on ap- plied research directly linked to questions of management and utilisation of forests.
-The Department for Forest and Wood Research at the Federal Institute of Technology has a dual function: on the one hand it conducts fundamental research on all matters related to for- estry and the environment, on the other hand it is responsible for the training of forest engi- neers.
The Law on Forests
A century and a half-ago, Swiss forests were in a very bad state. Vast tracts of mountain for- ests had been cut down to serve the ever-growing need for energy of the industrial age. The negative effects of this were almost immediately evident: floods, avalanches and landslides caused deaths and great material damage. With time people realised the link between the de- struction of forests and the occurrence of such calamities. In 1876 this lead to the passing of the first law to protect the forest. Switzerland was one of the first countries to adopt such a law, although at that time it was limited to mountain forests. This law eventually developed into the Forest Police Act of 1902, which, with partial modifications, remained in force for 90 years. This law was essentially aimed at conserving the existing forest area, with a ban on deforestation and the principle of sustained yield, requiring that "the rate of felling should not exceed the rate of growth". Throughout the 20th century there has been a growing awareness that forest also have a great importance as a natural environment. Eventually, it became nec- essary to adapt the law to new requirements. The new Law on Forests that took effect on
1 January 1993 extends the concept of protection to the whole forest as an ecosystem and en- compasses the forest's multiple functions: ecological, social, protective and commercial. The
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law now gives equal weight to these four functions, which are its guiding principles. In the following these functions will be shortly described.
The Forest's multiple Functions
1) Ecological function: Respect for the environment and the conservation of forests as eco- systems and as part of the landscape are main topics in the Law of Forests. This means man- agement principles that are based on natural conditions and processes with a ban on clear- felling and implementing silvicultural practices imitating nature, while still allowing the pos- sibility of delimiting forest reserves or simply renouncing the management of certain areas used for wood production.
2) Protective function: The role of forests in protecting people and property against natural events such as avalanches, landslides, erosion and rockfall is of great importance throughout the mountainous regions of Switzerland. The Law specifically requires measures to ensure that the forest can at all times fulfil this function. Forest protection measures are mostly ap- plied, where the forest has the protection function.
3) Social function: The population has the right of free access to all Swiss forests, regardless of ownership. This principle illustrates the role of the forest as an area for recreation and tourism.
4) Commercial function: Timber is one of Switzerland's few natural resources. Actually more than 5 mio m3 are harvested. Forestry and the timber industry constitute the fourth larg- est employers in Switzerland.
Forest Monitoring in Switzerland
The forest will grow without man's intervention. However, we are dependent on the forest, and expect it to perform many functions. Only tended forests can perform those functions in a lasting and reliable way. In order to manage and tend the forest properly we have to get to know it thoroughly. For this the program "Forest Monitoring in Switzerland" was created which records the condition of the forests and studies how they develop. Two Institutions share this work: The Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research FSL which is concerned with research, investigations and monitoring and the Swiss Agency for the Environment, Forests and Landscape SAEFL which applies the results in policy on forests and environment.
In the following the four sub-programs within "Forest Monitoring in Switzerland" are shortly described. In the sub-program National Forest Inventory (NFI) data are recorded every ten years concerning the structure of forests, above all with a view to sustainable forest manage- ment. The Sanasilva Forest Damage Inventory (SSI) was set up in 1985 as a reaction to the threat of forest decline. Crown thinning is monitored every year to estimate the health of the forests. The Long-term Forest Ecosystem Research (LTFER) is a research program in which the reactions of the forest to pollutants and changes in climate are being studied over a period of decades. The Forest Insect and Disease Service (FIDS) has been collecting infor- mation about forest damage caused by insects, fungi, bacteria and wildlife since 1985. It pro- vides information concerning measures for prevention and repair.
Forest Protection
The Aim of forest protection is to minimalise the threat by pests and diseases. It will not mean, however, that every harmful insect has to be eradicated. But any gradation has to be stopped, which could weaken the forest in such a manner, that the attack would lead to a loss of important functions, for example the protection against rockfall or avalanches.
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The Measures of forest protection in Switzerland are more or less similar as in other coun- tries. Great importance is given to the prevention of damage rather than repair, since the pos- sibilities for action when damage has occurred are often limited. Because the management principles are based on natural conditions and processes the use of environmentally harmful substances is very restricted, including any kind of plant treatment substance such as pesti- cides. This explains how important it is to prevent any bigger infection by biotic agents. A list of authorised products is kept, and anybody wanting to use such substances needs special training and a permit. We use pesticides only on logged stems. Preventive measures within the forest include installations such as bark beetle traps and the clearance of felling areas to prevent the propagation of parasites and diseases. Damage is repaired by felling and debark- ing the affected trees and destroying the bark and lopped branches. To co-ordinate and regu- late plant protection in international trade, the Federal Plant Protection Service was called into life, composed of federal forestry and agriculture services. The measures imposed, such as the phytosanitary certificates, mostly correspond to EU regulations.
The Forest Insect and Disease Service (FIDS) plays a very important role in pest-control. It is responsible for the information and counselling of the cantons - every canton has a respon- sible for forest protection - and collaborates intensively with the Swiss Forest Agency (SF A).
The Service gathers data and provides current information on any organism causing damage to forests. The FIDS and the SF A edit a list, where figure the names of the organisms that can cause important damage in the Swiss forest stands:
Pests
lps typographus, lps amitinus Pityogenes chalcographus Pityokteines sp.
Tomicus sp.
lps acuminatus Ips sexdentatus Ips cembrae
Dreyfusia nordmannianae
Fungi
Ceratocystis ulmi
Cryphonectria parasitica Ascocalyx sp.
Bacteria
Erwinia amylovora
The costs of preventive and repair measures for the above mentioned organisms are indemni- fied by the Confederation and the cantons that are concerned.
The most important pest in Switzerland is lps typographus. The chart below shows the evo- lution of unregulated felling (in 1 '000 m3) because of beetle damage during the last 14 years.
600 :§.
Cl 500
c c:; 400
IL E g 300
200 c 100
::I 0
..._
82 84 86
Unregulated Felling
----
88 90/
Year
I I "' ""' ""-
92 94 96 98
In 1990 occurred a very big storm "Vivian". In the following years a massive development of this bark beetle was observed. Today the situation reached the normal level again.
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The costs for the measures of forest protection follow this trend at the same rate.
Problems and Questions
After a spectacular rise in the sums allocated by the Confederation in 1991 the subsidies have been gradually sinking for the past couple of years. This is due not only to climate conditions but also to budget cuts and the downward trend is likely to continue over the next few years.
Nevertheless the forest pests and diseases will persist and one has to maintain and improve their control. Therefore ...
1) ... we have to refine our 'traditional' measures of forest protection and develop new ones:
-Do we know methods for example in bio-controlling the bark beetle (antagonists, ... )?
2) ... we need efficient and effective alternatives:
-Should we focus on supporting measures (special silviculture methods, ... )?
3) ... we should know the criteria that distinguish a pest-resistant forest stand from another one:
- How can we get the difference?
4) ... we should be able to recognise potential danger of important pests and diseases in time:
- Do we know the accurate prognosis methods?
5) ... we should know more about the biology of our important pests and diseases:
- What facts or circumstances does mostly influence their development?
6) ... we should know what does happen when climate changes:
- What new pests and diseases have we to expect?
This is not the end of the list. But it shows that there still exist enough problems to be solved by the entomologists, the phytopathologists and many other researchers.
Literature:
-Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Forest Management in Switzerland by Evelyn Coleman Brantschen, SAEFL, Swiss Forest Agency, Berne 1997 -Forest Monitoring in Switzerland 1996-1999, SAEFL & FSL, Edition 1997
-Forests and wood in Switzerland/Wood and forests in Switzerland, SAEFL, Edition 1999
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