Seeing is building better understanding - the Integrate+ Marteloscopes

Marteloscopes are multifunctional training tools that can create a better understanding of forest management and have been developed as didactic tools for virtual tree selections. With this paper the authors provide explanatory information on the more than 40 Marteloscopes that were established in the course of the project Integrate+. It presents the Marteloscope plot design, gives insight on their set up and the type of data that is recorded for each site. Methods are described on how to calculate e.g. habitat and economic values. The paper elaborates on the use of Marteloscopes as silvicultural training tools and their value in forest education. With the help of the tablet software “I+” virtual management interventions can be performed and the results immediately retrieved. We exemplary present a few options on how the Marteloscope dataset of more than 15,000 recorded trees may serve as stimulus for scientific investigations. Examples are stand development projections, future evolution of tree microhabitats and the calculating of structural complexity and competition indices. An annex separate to this paper contains the bulk of the Integrate + Marteloscopes in the form of information fact sheets.