Forschungs- und Innovationsprojekt
Untersuchungen zu Vorkommen, Genetik und Anbaueignung der Edelkastanie (Castanea sativa) in Süddeutschland unter Berücksichtigung von waldbaulichen und waldschutzrelevanten Aspekten (Projekt C 29)

In this project, the occurrence of sweet chestnut in Bavaria will be recorded on a large scale in a first step. The information obtained from the occurrence analysis form the basis for the selection of suitable seed crop stands and allow a genetic classification of the sweet chestnuts occurring in this country.
To determine cultivation suitability, inventory data from our National Forest Inventory and the state inventories are blended with site data. Supplemented by the continuous evaluation of the European literature, the aim is to develop a comprehensive picture in as complete a manner as possible.


In many places, the summer of 2015 led to a considerable level of damage, especially to regeneration areas and has once again highlighted the importance of dry and heat-tolerant tree species in forestry. Especially on the rather acidic, nutrient-poor locations, the choice is relatively small. On those sites, the sweet chestnut can play a valuable role.

For this reason, it is gratifying that a project applied for funding by the Fachagentur Nachwachsende Rohstoffe (FNR), in which the LWF intensively deals with the sweet chestnut, was approved in October 2015.
In this project, the occurrence of sweet chestnut in Bavaria will be recorded on a large scale in a first step. This is done on the one hand by a comprehensive survey of the local foresters from Bavarian Forest Administration. On the other hand, in areas with ample sweet chestnut occurrence, this is done by flying at flowering time and a computer-aided marking of the well-recognizable flowering sweet chestnut from the aerial photographs. Unfortunately, due to the weather conditions during the flowering season, the flight could not take place.
The information obtained from the occurrence analysis form the basis for the selection of suitable seed crop stands and allow a genetic classification of the sweet chestnuts occurring in Bavaria. For the first time, extensive genetic studies of the sweet chestnut beyond Bavaria will be carried out in the European area of occurrence. More than 1,500 samples are being processed.
To determine cultivation suitability, inventory data from BWI and from inventories of Bavarian State Forests are blended with site-data. Here, the data acquisition is already well advanced and first smaller analyses are already running. At the same time, occurrence data is currently being collected at a European level. Due to the given date, the focus will be on the climate occurrence modeling of the sweet chestnut.

Supplemented by the continuous evaluation of the European literature, the aim is to develop as comprehensive a picture as possible. The literature analysis also provides information on the different silvicultural management. This gets expanded by two master theses on the topic of Forest stand history and management, as well as the growth dynamics of sweet chestnut in mixed stands and their regeneration. The basis for this are particularly suitable forest stands of the occurrence analysis. Furthermore, the distribution of seeds by jays will be highlighted in a Bachelor-thesis.

The localised sweet chestnut occurrences are examined for an infestation of forest health relevant organisms and the handling of these. The first proof of bark cancer disease and sweet chestnut gall wasp were recorded for Bavaria. Furthermore, it will be determined which potential uses and which marketing possibilities exist for the wood of sweet chestnuts. This is currently done as part of a master's thesis at the Wood Research Munich. The gained knowledge is prepared and made available in a practical way for forest owners and foresters.