Did you know that parasitoid insects can help control forest pests? Biodiversity plays a major role in the resilience of oak trees to the impacts of climate change. Luckily, there are important measures that foresters can implement to support the increase of biodiversity.
This documentary produced by European Forest Institute features the “Oak Resilience” project, led by the state agency Wald und Holz NRW. The team around project leader Dr. Mathias Niesar and his colleague Dr. Wiebke Theisinger investigated parasitoids in selected study areas in North-Rhine Westphalia. They bred parasitoids in the laboratory and released them in areas with oaks infested with leave-eating caterpillars, to support the natural self-regulation of the forest ecosystem. The team around project leader Dr. Mathias Niesar and his colleague Dr. Wiebke Theisinger first collected parasitoids in the forest. In a second step, they tested in the laboratory if these parasitoids could be bred and potentially released in targeted areas. According to Dr. Niesar this could work “like a kind of vaccination” to support the natural self-regulation of the forest ecosystem.

On a larger scale, the best way to increase biodiversity, and ultimately support oak resilience, is to implement measures such as flowering forest edges, wildflowers strips and meadows, structural diversity and light.
Curious about how about how to strengthen oak resilience? Watch the video!