Contribution of spatially explicit models to climate change adaptation and mitigation plans for a priority forest habitat

Climate change will impact forest ecosystems, their biodiversity and the livelihoods they sustain. Several adaptation and mitigation strategies to counteract climate change impacts have been proposed for these ecosystems. However, effective implementation of such strategies requires a clear understanding of how climate change will influence the future distribution of forest ecosystems. This study uses maximum entropy modelling (MaxEnt) to predict environmentally suitable areas for cork oak (Quercus suber) woodlands, a socio-economically important forest ecosystem protected by the European Union Habitats Directive. Specifically, we use two climate change scenarios to predict changes in environmental suitability across the entire geographical range of the cork oak and in areas where stands were recently established. Up to 40 % of current environmentally suitable areas for cork oak may be lost by 2070, mainly in northern Africa and southern Iberian Peninsula. Almost 90 % of new cork oak stands are predicted to lose suitability by the end of the century, but future plantations can take advantage of increasing suitability in northern Iberian Peninsula and France. The predicted impacts cross-country borders, showing that a multinational strategy, will be required for cork oak woodland adaptation to climate change. Such a strategy must be regionally adjusted, featuring the protection of refugia sites in southern areas and stimulating sustainable forest management in areas that will keep long-term suitability. Afforestation efforts should also be promoted but must consider environmental suitability and land competition issues

Forestry for a low carbon future. Integrating forests and wood products in climate change strategies

Following the introduction, Chapter 2 provides an overview of mitigation in the forest sector, addressing the handling of forests under UNFCCC. Chapters 3 to 5 focus on forest-based mitigation options – afforestation, reforestation, REDD+ and forest management – and Chapters 6 and 7 focus on wood-product based options – wood energy and green building and furnishing. The publication describes these activities in the context of UNFCCC rules, assessing their mitigation potential and economic attrac tiveness as well as opportunities and challenges for implementation. Chapter 8 discusses the different considerations involved in choosing the right mix of options as well as some of the instruments and means for implementation. Chapter 8 also highlights the co-benefits generated by forest-based mitigation and emphasizes that economic assessment of mitigation options needs to take these benefits into account. The concluding chapter assesses national commitments under UNFCCC involving forest miti gation and summarizes the challenges and opportunities

Restoration in the Mediterranean: Overview of experiences mapped and lessons learnt

Restoration and rehabilitation efforts have been undertaken for decades in the Mediterranean region and with different degrees of success. Nevertheless, they all offer valuable lessons onto which other initiatives can be built, thus improving their success. As part of its effort to compile and analyze data and share lessons learnt on restoration, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has been collecting data on Mediterranean restoration and rehabilitation, including reforestation and afforestation, projects, programmes and initiatives. Based on an online consultation and desk research, a preliminary mapping allowed to compile and analyze data from a total of 40 restoration and rehabilitation initiatives in 13 Mediterranean countries. These initiatives were analyzed in terms of their objective, scale, type of stakeholders involved, type of land degradation and main measures taken, and sources of funding. The results highlighted some key issues, which were then translated into recommendations to support restoration practitioners and decision-makers. These recommendations focus on the choice of the best restoration strategy, the choice of the most appropriate (native) species and genetic material, as well as some key elements to ensure the long-term sustainability of these initiatives

Restauration en Méditerranée : tour d’horizon des expériences et acquis

Des actions de restauration et de réhabilitation ont été entreprises dans la région méditerranéenne depuis des décennies, avec divers niveaux de réussite. Toutes offrent cependant des enseignements dont peuvent potentiellement bénéficier les projets en cours et futurs pour améliorer leurs résultats. Dans le cadre de son travail de compilation et d’analyse de données et de partage de leçons apprises sur la restauration, l’Organisation des Nations Unies pour l’alimentation et l’agriculture (FAO) a entrepris la collecte de données sur les projets, programmes et autres initiatives de restauration et de réhabilitation en Méditerranée, y compris les programmes de boisement et de reboisement. Sur la base d’une consultation en ligne et d’une recherche documentaire, un recensement préliminaire de 40 initiatives dans 13 pays méditerranéens a été effectué. Celles-ci ont été analysées par rapport à leur objectif, leur ampleur, le type de parties prenantes impliquées, les causes de dégradation des terres, le type de mesures entreprises, et les sources de financement notamment. Les résultats ont permis de mettre en évidence un certain nombre de questions clés qui ont été traduites en directives pour aider les intervenants et les partenaires techniques et financiers concernés par la restauration des terres. Ces recommandations mettent notamment l’accent sur le choix de la meilleure stratégie à adopter pour la restauration, le choix des espèces (locales) et du matériel génétique les plus appropriés, ainsi que sur des éléments essentiels permettant d’assurer la durabilité à long terme de telles initiatives

Mediterranean cork oak savannas require human use to sustain biodiversity and ecosystem services

9 páginas, 5 figuras, 2 tablas.Mediterranean cork oak savannas, which are found only in southwestern Europe and northwestern Africa, are ecosystems of high socioeconomic and conservation value. Characterized by sparse tree cover and a diversity of understory vegetation - ranging from shrub formations to grasslands - that support high levels of biodiversity, these ecosystems require active management and use by humans to ensure their continued existence. The most important product of these savannas is cork, a non-timber forest product that is periodically harvested without requiring tree felling. Market devaluation of, and lower demand for, cork are causing a decline in management, or even abandonment, of southwestern Europe's cork oak savannas. Subsequent shrub encroachment into the savanna's grassland components reduces biodiversity and degrades the services provided by these ecosystems. In contrast, poverty-driven overuse is degrading cork oak savannas in northwestern Africa. "Payment for ecosystem services" schemes, such as Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification or Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation and enhancement of carbon stocks (REDD+) programs, could produce novel economic incentives to promote sustainable use and conservation of Mediterranean cork oak savanna ecosystems in both Europe and Africa.We thank C Fontaine, S Cerasoli, C Moura, R Jackson, R Ryel, L Silva, D Porej, and HM Pereira for helpful comments that greatly improved the manuscript. Funding was provided by CREOAK project (EU R&D Fund project number QLK5-CT-2002-01596) and Portuguese National Science Foundation projects POCTI/AGG/48704/2002, POCI/AGR/63322/2004, and PTDC/AGR-AAM/098790/2008.Peer reviewe

The extent of forest in dryland biomes

Dryland biomes cover two-fifths of Earth's land surface, but their forest area is poorly known. Here, we report an estimate of global forest extent in dryland biomes, based on analyzing more than 210,000 0.5-hectare sample plots through a photo-interpretation approach using large databases of satellite imagery at (i) very high spatial resolution and (ii) very high temporal resolution, which are available through the Google Earth platform. We show that in 2015, 1327 million hectares of drylands had more than 10% tree-cover, and 1079 million hectares comprised forest. Our estimate is 40 to 47% higher than previous estimates, corresponding to 467 million hectares of forest that have never been reported before. This increases current estimates of global forest cover by at least 9%. © 2017, American Association for the Advancement of Science. All rights reserved