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iForest -Biogeosciences and Forestry
IntroductionTraditional land use (agriculture and forestry) is being abandoned in the Alps due to socioeconomic changes, while an increasingly larger area is being used for tourism and infrastructure, which requires protection from natural hazards. Forests provide permanent protective functions, but only if they are properly and sustainably managed (Ott et al. 1997, O'Hara 2006, Mizunaga et al. 2010. There has been a general decline in forest management in Europe (Forest Europe 2010) and in the Alps in particular, where it is difficult to achieve positive economic returns (Schütz 1996). Climate change has increased the frequency of extraordinary weather phenomena, which causes higher risk from natural hazards and weakening of forest stability (Seidl et al. 2011). In many Alpine countries, state subsidies are used to facilitate the management of forests with direct protective functions (Mayer & Ott 1991, Brang et al. 2006. In order to maximize protective effects with minimal costs, a thorough understanding of natural hazards, their impact areas, and the potential role of forests is necessary (Lopez Saez et al. 2011). A detailed delineation of forest areas with direct protective functions is necessary to determine the areas where state subsidies should be directed. In addition, forest profile models must be developed to inform silvicultural measures and to verify their success (Mayer & Ott 1991, Berger & Rey 2004, Frehner et al. 2005.In Switzerland a method for the delineation of forests with direct protection functions was developed as part of the Silvaprotect-CH project: a standardized delineation of protection forests at the state level. The procedure involves multiple, stepwise modules that generate the actual forest areas with direct protection functions (Giamboni & Wehrli 2008). In France, the zoning classification of mountain forests with direct protection functions and the mapping of hazards and prohibition of the construction of infrastructure in risk areas were identified as the most effective preventive approach to ensure the maintenance of protective functions (Berger & Rey 2004). In Austria, a distinction is made between two types of protection forests: site-protection forests and infrastructure-protection forests, the latter also including forests that protect against noise and light pollution (Schima & Singer 2008). Delineation methods of forests in which slope processes (e.g., erosion, landslides, debris flow, etc.) are present differs among the federal states (Ziegner 2002).The negative effects of disturbances are best mitigated by uneven aged forests, where the presence and distribution of trees provide protection against natural hazards, and the ability to replace damaged trees with existing regeneration provides elasticity (O'Hara 2006). For such forests it is necessary to determine a (modified) selection forest target profile. In Switzerland the NaiS -Nachhaltigkeit und Erfolgskontrolle im Schutzwald is used for the management of protection forests (Fr...