Biodiversity initiatives aim to increase forest drought resilience

Volunteers are participating in conservation efforts to increase forest biodiversity and resilience against drought. Through the BeetleTrees project, led by the Biological Center of the Czech Academy of Sciences and organized by the DUHA Movement, participants are implementing traditional forest management techniques in Central European forests.

In the Volyně region, volunteers worked in forests that grew naturally on former monoculture clearings. By thinning the crowns of young trees—primarily maple, oak, and cherry—they allow more sunlight to reach the forest floor. This reduction in density helps trees compete less for limited soil moisture, better preparing the ecosystem for future droughts.

Additional measures include leaving high stumps and dead wood to provide habitats for insects and fungi. These interventions aim to create a diverse mosaic of conditions that support a wide range of plants and animals, restoring habitats for species that rely on light-filled forests and old trees.