Alternative with advantages
Climate change trees are tree species that better tolerate extreme weather conditions such as heat, drought and frost and therefore represent an adaptation to climate change.
1. Plant robustness
Thrives excellently in extreme conditions such as heat and drought.
2. Non-invasive species
Do not disturb the ecological balance and do not displace native plants.
3. Food for wildlife
Provide many important food sources for local animals such as bees and birds.
Where do the trees come from?
Is it about foreign exotics?
Here the answer is no. Many of these trees grow not only in their country of origin, but also here. However, these are very rarely represented in parks or tree collections. In addition, most of these tree species were native to us before the last ice age.
Are we displacing the native flora like this?
Are they invasive species?
Here too we can answer the question with a no. Shrubs and especially trees need several years or even decades to reach sexual maturity and thus produce seeds. So there is no comparison to Japanese knotweed or ragweed, which spread very quickly and tend to displace native species. This is because herbaceous plants reach seed maturity every year, or even several times a year.
Unfounded concern
Are native tree species being replaced?
We don't have to worry here either. Our forests and public green spaces continue to be cultivated with more than 90% native tree species. The plants described in this category are used in extreme locations with high levels of drought. These plants can also be used to a small extent in our forests. There are some treasures here that not only enhance our timber market, but also provide the local wildlife, such as bees, birds, rodents and hoofed game, with important food.
Dry extreme locations primarily mean very sandy soils with little water or nutrient holding capacity, or heavily compacted soils in cities. It is therefore very important to assess the location carefully and put together the right tree species for it. There is absolutely nothing wrong with combining native trees and the following named climate change trees.
What is the solution?
Why don't these tree species grow here?
As already described above, some of these trees already existed in Central Europe. Compared to Asia and America, we have a relatively poor vegetation diversity. This is because the ice migrated from north to south during the last ice age. The mountains in America and Asia are aligned longitudinally. This meant that these tree species were able to steadily retreat to the south and then back to the north once the ice had retreated again. Different in Europe. Our mountains lie across and thus formed a barrier where some tree species fell victim to the ice. At that time, only a few particularly forest-safe species survived.
Now that the climate is changing again and we are experiencing particularly harsh droughts and heatwaves again, we need some of these plants again.
Doesn't real risk await us?
How do we know that these plants do not harm our animals, for example through pollen that could endanger bees
All of the tree species we have selected have been represented in tree collections in Germany and Central Europe for many decades. It turns out that these tree species are an important addition to our bee and animal world. Let's take the black locust from North America as an example. We have been growing it again for a long time and are now probably the best-known bee tree in our latitudes. Only tree species are described here that have actually spent a long time with us and cannot cause any harm to the environment. We attach great importance to detailed descriptions and put the tree species through their paces. We are always open to questions and suggestions!
Read enough?
Here you can find all our plant genera.
