Adapting to a Warming World
A new Winter Hardiness Zone Map for European Plants
As Climate Change accelerates, the impact on our landscapes becomes ever more apparent, reshaping ecosystems and challenging our traditional understanding of plant resilience.
Addressing this urgency, the newly updated European Winter Hardiness Zone (WHZ) map has been developed as a crucial resource for adapting to the changing climate.
New Winter Hardiness Zones for European Plants, indicating the temperature range of average yearly minimum temperatures between 1991 and 2020. Copyright E. Wulff & J. Bouillon
This innovative map was created by our LANDler Elena Wulff, Junior Landscape Architect AKNW, in collaboration with dendrologist Prof. Dr. Jürgen Bouillon from Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences. The academic research, honoured with the Camillo-Schneider-Award 2023 by the German Dendrological Society DDG, provides a groundbreaking update to how we view plant hardiness (i.e., the minimum temperature a plant can tolerate) across Europe.
Elena Wulff, Junior Landscape Architect AKNW at LAND
Dating back to 1984 (Heinze & Schreiber), the reference studies for mapping European hardiness zones needed to be updated. For the first time, temperature variations related to Climate Change and mesoclimatic influences have now been detailed with extraordinary precision.
Analyzing climate data from over 11,000 stations in 37 countries, Elena Wulff and her research team utilized cutting-edge Geographic Information System (GIS) technology to model 30-year climate averages, incorporating factors like elevation and coastal proximity.
Why does this matter? As temperatures become increasingly unpredictable, selecting climate-resilient plants is no longer a choice but a necessity. This updated WHZ map empowers cities, landscape architects, and communities to make informed decisions, fostering urban green spaces that can endure the climate pressures of tomorrow.
At LAND, we are committed to weaving these insights into our designs, making landscapes not only beautiful but resilient. Climate adaptation is no longer about planning for the future; it’s about acting now to safeguard the places we love.
To read the full paper click here.
