Co-creation of a prototypical climate service product to support climate change adaptation in the city forest of Karlsruhe

To address challenges posed by climate change, the forestry sector is exploring various adaptation strategies. Additionally, efforts are underway to enhance public awareness and engagement, fostering a collaborative approach to both mitigate climate change as well as to adapt to the impacts of climate change.

Our research adopts an integrative research approach, based on transdisciplinary processes and co-creation, to understand stakeholder needs and develop a user specific climate service product. Focusing on climate extremes, we investigate diverse perceptions among authorities, scientists, as well as forest users. As part of a collaborative case study with stakeholders from the city forest Karlsruhe in Germany we aim to address specific climate information needs, inform society about climate change impacts and adaptation strategies, and facilitate communication with forest users.

The resulting climate service product – an easy understandable and scientifically sound brochure of twelve pages – covers a range of topics from climate change scenarios to specialized climate indices for forestry as well as practical adaptation measures initiated by the city forestry office of Karlsruhe. To enhance the societal and scientific impacts based on our case-study, a multi-level approach has been chosen. Thus, in addition to the brochure, all data and methods used are comprehensively explained and additional indices, analyses, methods, data, and literature have been made freely accessible online.

The outcome of our efforts emphasizes the important role of co-creation to enhance inter- and transdisciplinary capacities for climate change adaptation in a city forest. By fostering dialogues with key stakeholders and co-creating practice-specific climate information, particularly tailored for a city forestry office, our efforts inform society about climate change impacts and adaptation strategies and facilitate communication with diverse forest users and visitors (e.g. cyclists, joggers, walkers, riders). This integrated approach ensures a meaningful contribution to climate resilience in the German forestry sector and beyond.