Climate change accelerates ecosystem restoration in the mountain forests of Central Europe

Restoring degraded forest ecosystems is an important element in the ongoing challenge to sustain the integrity and functioning of the biosphere. However, the evaluation of restoration success is hampered by long lead times of management measures in forests. Moreover, forest change is accelerating in the absence of management because of ongoing climate change. Yet, because a counterfactual is frequently missing, it remains unclear whether restoration measures are aided or impeded by climate change. 
Here, we analyzed the pace and success of forest restoration under climate change, combining field data and simulation modelling. We focused on the management zone of Berchtesgaden National Park (BGNP), Germany, where restoration aims to restore homogeneous Norway spruce (Picea abies) forests to structurally diverse mixed mountain forests. We evaluated three alternative restoration strategies: Two active strategies focused on planting the currently underrepresented silver fir (Abies alba) an...