Best Practice Knowledge Base
4.1 Veteranization of trees
Veteran spruce in Schwarzwald National Park © Hernán Serrano-León
Veteranization is a proactive technique used to accelerate the development of ecological features typically found in ancient or mature trees, such as cavities, decaying wood, and dead branches. These features provide critical habitats for a variety of species, including birds, bats, insects, and fungi, which play essential roles in forest ecosystems. By artificially inducing these traits in younger trees, veteranization helps compensate for the lack of old-growth trees and the biodiversity they support, bridging the gap until naturally aging trees can fulfill these roles.
I. Guidelines
| Nº | Title | Author | Year | Focus Region | Language | Summary | Link |
| 1 | Veteranization: Usint tools instead of time | Pro Natura | - | UK | English | Brief and general introduction to tree veteranization | https://www.trees.org.uk/Trees.org.uk/media/Trees-org.uk/Documents/Conference19/TueAM-3-Vikki-Bengtsson.pdf |
| 2 | Handbook for Life Bridging the gap - Chapter 9: Veteranization | Life - Bridging the Gap | - | Sweden | Swedish; English | Brief and general introduction to tree veteranization, including a video | https://handbok.lifebridgingthegap.se/chapters/veteranization/ |
| 3 | Veteranization | Skogskunskap | 2017 | Sweden | Swedish | List of potential veterinazation practices | https://www.skogskunskap.se/hansyn/naturvardande-skotsel/veteranisering/ |
II. Books or book chapters
| Nº | Title | Author | Chapter | Chapter author | Year | Focus region | Language | Summary | Link |
| 1 | Trees beyond the wood | Rotherham et al. | Veteranisation of oak: managing trees to speed up habitat protection | Bengtsson et al. | 2012 | World | English | Insights to veteranisation and synthesis of methods for veteranising oak trees | - |
III. Scientific articles
| Nº | Title | Author | Year | Focus region | Language | Type | Summary | Link |
| 1 | Artificial tree microhabitats: Wound depth and position affect saproxylic beetles attracted to freshly veteranised trees | Cizek et al. | 2024 | Czech Republic | English | Experiment | Effects of shallow bark for tree veteranization on the abundance of saproxylic beetles | https://resjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/icad.12785 |
| 2 | Endophytes dominate fungal communities in six-year-old veteranisation wounds in living oak trunks | Menkis et al. | 2022 | Scandinavia | English | Experiment | Effects of veteranisation wounds on fungal community | https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S175450482030132X |
| 3 | Making hollow trees: Inoculating living trees with wood-decay fungi for the conservation of threatened taxa-A guide for conservationists | Wainhouse and Boddy | 2022 | World | English | Conceptual review | Guide for veteranisation through fungi inoculation | https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989421005175?via%3Dihub |
| 4 | The benefits of tree wounds: Microhabitat development in urban trees as affected by intensive tree maintenance | Grossmann et al. | 2020 | Canada | English | Observational study | Effects of pruning wounds on abundance of biodiversity-relevant tree microhabitats | https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1618866720306348?via%3Dihub |