A targeted nurturing of oak in the canton of Argovia goes against the natural development of forest stands where the dominant, naturally occurring species is beech. Because of this,afforestation with oak is both work intensive and costly and is therefore concentrated on sites where silvicultural, economical and ecological aspects have been taken into account. With the help of a simple model showing areas where, above all,oak is nurtured, comprehensively mapped forest stands were classed according to competitiveness and correlated to thermal levels, that represent an important site factor for oak. One important aspect surrounding the issue is the preservation of genetic resources and an adequate supply of appropriate seed from chosen autochthonal, indigenous oak stands. In addition,the endangered population of middle spotted woodpecker,which is tied to widespread sites of aged oak-rich deciduous stands, should be fostered. Taking ecological priorities into account a possible area to nurture oak has been demarcated in the Fricktal.
