Summermagazin 2015 Kronplatz Pustertal Dolomites

Burger roams through the forest practically every day. In so
doing, his first glance hits the ground. Is it dry or damp, fertile
or infertile? Heather and lingonberries grow on dry soil. Ferns,
mosses, and sorrel love water. The forest floor soaks up the rain
like a sponge – up to two hundred litres can be stored for every
square meter (nearly five gallons per square foot). The reason for
this? The organisms that live in the soil and the roots of the trees,
shrubs, and herbs that penetrate the earth create an extensively
branching hollow space system. As a result of this, the rain can
be quickly channelled from the surface to the depths. The roots
of the trees tap into this subterranean reservoir and draw the
desired moisture all the way up to the treetops. A spruce tree
soaks up around forty litres (more than ten gallons) every day.
Deciduous trees such as beeches and birches suck up far more:
it can be up to two hundred litres (around fifty-three gallons) on
hot days.
Only if the rain falls in deluges would it be too much even for
the forest. The spruces are the ones to lose their footing first,
because their roots run flat and shallow. “Fallen trees tell me
about the storms during the night,” says Burger. “Fortunately, that
only happens rarely.”
The precipitation in the Pustertal-Val Pusteria falls above all else
in the summertime; the winters are rather dry and cold. Spruces
love this climate, and they have made themselves at home in
the proverbial “green valley”. At the higher elevations, they are
increasingly joined by larches, and at the tree line, Pinus cembra
(the stone pine) grows. It is a very particularly mix of trees that
above all else is good for the health.
In order to grow, trees need carbon, which they get from the
carbon dioxide in the air. As a result of the plant metabolism,
photosynthesis, oxygen is released. A twenty meter (sixty-six foot)
spruce creates around 21,000 litres of oxygen per day – that is
approximately as much as thirty-five people need daily.
Scientists are enthusiastic about the positive effects that a walk
in the forest carries with it: after just one hour of hiking, the
blood pressure drops, the performance of the lungs increases,
and the elasticity of the arteries improves. Japanese researchers
have determined that those cells in the immune system which
fight cancer are strengthened by a stay in the woods. What
is responsible for this is likely the so-called “phytoncides” –
substances which people inhale in the forest. Normally, they
serve the plants as protection against pathogens and pests.
And Burger also sees pests during his forest inspections. “Bark
beetles cause trouble for our trees again and again, but the bugs
have never caused great damage,” he says. “Our forests are
very resistant because they formed naturally.”
“Naturally” means that they are not clear cut and then reforested,
but rather individual trees or tree groups are purposefully logged.
12 | Kronplatz Summer | The Language of the Forest