Pine cone harvest offers Belgium a natural defence against climate change

Belgian authorities are undertaking a strategic initiative to enhance forest resilience and diversity by harvesting and planting pine cone seeds across the country.

This effort has gained urgency following Belgium's largest wildfire in a century, a consequence of climate change impacts like fires and prolonged dry spells.

The initiative, managed by forestry workers and experts, involves collecting seeds that will later be planted to foster a diverse forest ecosystem capable of withstanding future climatic challenges.

This long-term strategy aims to prepare Belgium's forests for the next 200 years by introducing a variety of tree species historically found in southern Europe to adapt to the changing climate.

GENAPPE, Sept 13 — Perched atop a larch tree, Luca Bruscia, a sporty 25-year-old pruner, collects pine cones that Belgian authorities hope will help strengthen the country’s forests in the face of a changing climate.

The cones’ seeds will be planted in other woody corners of the European nation to boost tree diversity and resilience — an effort that gained more urgency this year after Belgium was ravaged by its largest wildfire in a century.

“We used to see this kind of thing happen in southern Europe, and now it’s happening here. It’s quite striking,” Bruscia’s boss Adrien Baudoin said of fires and prolonged spells of dry weather.

“It’s going to get worse and worse,” he added. “We have no choice but to adapt.”

Bruscia was one of four forestry workers taking part in the annual high-altitude cone harvest on a September morning in the Bois D’Hez woodland in Genappe south of Brussels.

It took the team a few attempts with a tool resembling a giant slingshot to secure throw-lines on high sturdy branches of several tall trees.

They then climbed up about 40 metres (130 feet) and spent a couple of hours on each tree, collecting several kilogrammes of cones in canvas bags.

The harvest is carried out from mid-August to mid-September, before the pine cones open up, releasing their seeds into the wind.

Once collected, the cones are handed to the forestry office of Marche-en-Famenne, about 80 kilometres (50 miles) southeast of Genappe.

They are dried and then placed in a washing-machine-like spinner to extract the seeds.

After meticulous sorting, checks and a spell in cold storage sometimes lasting years, the office sells them on for planting in Belgium’s public and private forests.

A kilogramme – equivalent to some 35,000 seeds – costs about €3,400 (RM15,900), with a germination rate of up to 50 per cent.

“The forest of the future will be highly diverse,” said the office’s head Eleonore Scholzen, whose goal is to prepare local woods for the next 200 years.

With global warming “we need to take a very long-term view” she said.

Dominated by spruce trees, Belgian forests have suffered as the lack of arboreal diversity has caused soil acidification and left trees more vulnerable to insects, diseases and natural disasters.

With global warming bringing about more frequent and intense extreme weather events, Belgium’s nature and forestry department is pushing for diversification.

From sycamores to maples, a variety of tree species, some once found mainly in southern Europe, are being planted around the country in the hope they will make local woods better equipped to withstand rising temperatures.

“Trees migrate naturally, but this migration is not fast enough to keep pace with climate change,” said Scholzen, who was among the responders to the massive fire in the High Fens nature reserve in August, explaining the need for a human boost. — AFP

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比利时当局正在开展一项战略举措，通过在全国范围内采集和种植松果种子来增强森林的恢复力和多样性。

比利时遭遇百年来最大的野火，气候变化导致火灾和长期干旱等影响，使得这项工作变得更加紧迫。

这项由林业工人和专家管理的计划，旨在收集种子，这些种子随后将被种植，以培育一个能够抵御未来气候挑战的多样化森林生态系统。

这项长期战略旨在通过引入历史上在南欧发现的各种树种，使比利时的森林适应不断变化的气候，从而为未来 200 年做好准备。

热纳普，9 月 13 日——25 岁的运动型修剪工卢卡·布鲁西亚站在一棵落叶松树顶上，收集松果。比利时当局希望这些松果能够帮助加强该国的森林，以应对气候变化。

这些松果的种子将被种植在该国其他林木茂盛的地区，以促进树木多样性和恢复力——在比利时遭受百年来最大的野火肆虐之后，这项工作在今年变得更加紧迫。

“我们过去常常在南欧看到这种事情发生，现在它竟然发生在我们这里。这真是令人震惊，”布鲁西亚队主教练阿德里安·博杜安在谈到火灾和持续干旱天气时说道。

“情况只会越来越糟，”他补充道，“我们别无选择，只能适应。”

九月的一个清晨，布鲁西亚是四名参加在布鲁塞尔南部热纳普的博伊斯德埃兹森林进行一年一度的高海拔松果采摘的林业工人之一。

团队尝试了好几次，用一种类似巨型弹弓的工具，才将投掷绳固定在几棵高大树木结实的树枝上。

然后他们爬到大约 40 米（130 英尺）高的地方，在每棵树上待了几个小时，用帆布袋收集了几公斤的松果。

收获期从八月中旬到九月中旬，在松果裂开、种子随风飘散之前进行。

收集到的松果会被送到马尔什昂法梅讷的林业办公室，该办公室位于热纳普东南约 80 公里（50 英里）处。

它们被晒干后，放入类似洗衣机的甩干机中提取种子。

经过仔细的分类、检查，以及有时长达数年的冷藏之后，该公司将它们出售给比利时的公共和私人森林进行种植。

一公斤种子（约 35,000 粒）售价约为 3,400 欧元（15,900 令吉），发芽率高达 50%。

“未来的森林将具有高度多样性，”该办公室负责人埃莉诺·舒尔岑说道，她的目标是为未来 200 年做好当地森林的准备。

她表示，面对全球变暖，“我们需要采取非常长远的眼光”。

比利时的森林以云杉树为主，由于树木多样性的缺乏导致土壤酸化，使树木更容易受到昆虫、疾病和自然灾害的侵害，比利时的森林因此遭受了损失。

随着全球变暖导致极端天气事件更加频繁和强烈，比利时自然与林业部门正在推动多元化发展。

从悬铃木到枫树，各种各样的树木，其中一些曾经主要分布在南欧，正在全国各地种植，希望它们能使当地的森林更好地抵御不断上升的气温。

“树木会自然迁移，但这种迁移速度不足以跟上气候变化的步伐，”舒尔岑说道。他曾参与8月份高地沼泽自然保护区大火的救援工作，并解释了需要人为干预的原因。——法新社

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