Author Brang, P. et al.

Year of publication 2006

This paper presents a short account of the ecology and management of forests that serve as protection against natural hazards. It is a revised and updated version of a book chapter on protection forests. Consistent with our expertise, the focus is on natural hazards in mountain areas, primarily the European Alps. Important terms used in this paper are defined in the annex. A protection (or protective) forest is a forest that has as its primary function the protection of people or assets against the impacts of natural hazards or adverse climate. Our definition implies the simultaneous presence of: i) a natural hazard or a potentially adverse climate that may cause damage, ii) people or assets that may be damaged, and iii) a forest that has the potential to prevent or mitigate this potential damage. The term ‘protection’ designates the protection of people and infrastructure from natural hazards, and not of nature from human impact as in the term ‘wilderness protection’. In this paper, we do not discuss the role of forests in protection from adverse climatic conditions (e.g. shelterbelts).