‘Development of forest and wood resources’ module

How the Swiss forest and its services might change in the future is an important question for policies related to forests, timber, energy, environment and climate. To help answer these questions, NFI scientists developed the empirical individual-tree model Massimo, which simulates the growth, mortality and regeneration of trees under user-defined management scenarios. Based on the selected indicators, the development of forest services, such as wood production, carbon storage, protection against natural hazards, biodiversity and recreational services can thus be estimated. Work is currently underway on a new, climate-sensitive version of Massimo.

Commissioned by the federal government and together with various cantons and with the associations WaldSchweiz and Holzindustrie Schweiz, the NFI has already carried out numerous studies on wood and biomass potential using Massimo. Recently, other forest services and the susceptibility to disturbances have also been investigated with Massimo.