Project Description and Activities
The aim of the Wendland forest conversion project is to gradually convert a pure pine stand covering a total of 165 hectares into structurally rich mixed stands. By thinning out the old stands, selectively planting climate-resilient tree species and using natural rejuvenation, structurally rich new tree layers are being established under the protection of a sparse pine canopy.
The newly introduced site-appropriate tree species include red oak, sand birch, chestnut, English oak, lime, Douglas fir, and coastal fir.
Project activities
Impressions of the project
Why we need forest adaptation
Storms
Forest areas with many tall and thin trees are more susceptible to storm damage (so-called windthrow). If, in addition, most of the trees in a section of forest are the same height, storms can lead to the loss of entire forest sections.
Forest fires
Wind plays a decisive role in the development of forest fires. In row-planted monocultures, the wind can easily push the fire through the stand, which leads to a faster spread of forest fires.
Impact of the project
Species distribution at project start
Number of main tree species
Biodiversity Index
Contribution to the UN SDGs
The Project Team
Wiebke Krenzel-Burkhardt
"With Pina Earth, we are seizing the opportunity to ambitiously drive forward forest conversion and think big."
Wiebke Krenzel-Burkhardt
District manager of the project Wendland
Ronja Wolf
from Pina Earth is overseeing the project from the quantification and certification side. This includes, for example, the simulation of the development of the forest over the next 30 years. Find out more here.
Project updates
2024-12-23
Forest adaption progresses
In 2024, a range of coordinated measures was implemented across the project area to lay the foundation for long-term forest transformation. Targeted thinning operations helped open up previously dense pine stands, allowing more light and space for a diverse new forest generation to emerge.
Following these interventions, the areas were enriched with climate-resilient tree species suited to the site, including Douglas fir, sweet chestnut, red oak, grand fir, and small-leaved lime. In total, over 100,000 seedlings were planted and more than 400 kilograms of seed distributed.
To protect the young trees, selective wildlife fencing was installed, and hunting activities were intensified – both essential steps to ensure successful regeneration under reduced browsing pressure.
2024-04-22
Successful Third-Party-Certification
Following a site visit in March 2024, the project has now been successfully audited and certified by TÜV Nord Cert in accordance with the 'Waldklimastandard' (WKS). The validation report has been submitted and the credits have been distributed and are therefore available immediately.
2024-03-06
Site visit by auditor
The site visit is part of the certification process at the beginning of the GHG project. Several stands were visited to verify the initial situation in the project.
2023-09-30
Start of the project
The conversion of the areas was initiated in September 2023. The planned measures will be implemented over the next 30 years.