Beech forests in Europe are severely threatened by climate change, particularly in southern European countries, but also in central Europe. Models project severe beech growth declines over the next 70 years—ranging from 20% to perhaps more than 50% depending on the climate change scenario and the region in question. "We expect high productivity declines due to increased drought severity, especially at the southern limits of the beech's distribution range," said Dr. Edurne Martinez del Castillo from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU). She warns that this will seriously affect both the environment and forestry and urgently recommends that measures be taken to adapt the forests. Furthermore, beech forests are crucial stores of carbon dioxide. The models are based on tree ring analyses from all over Europe using well-established climate scenarios. The study has now been published in Communications Biology.
