Combating the effects of climatic change on forests by mitigation strategies

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Forests occur across diverse biomes, each of which shows a specific composition of plant communities associated with the particular climate regimes. Predicted future climate change will have impacts on the vulnerability and productivity of forests; in some regions higher temperatures will extend the growing season and thus improve forest productivity, while changed annual precipitation patterns may show disadvantageous effects in areas, where water availability is restricted. While adaptation of forests to predicted future climate scenarios has been intensively studied, less attention was paid to mitigation strategies such as the introduction of tree species well adapted to changing environmental conditions.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We simulated the development of managed forest ecosystems in Germany for the time period between 2000 and 2100 under different forest management regimes and climate change scenarios. The management regimes reflect different rotation periods, harvesting intensities and species selection for reforestations. The climate change scenarios were taken from the IPCC's Special Report on Emission Scenarios (SRES). We used the scenarios A1B (rapid and successful economic development) and B1 (high level of environmental and social consciousness combined with a globally coherent approach to a more sustainable development). Our results indicate that the effects of different climate change scenarios on the future productivity and species composition of German forests are minor compared to the effects of forest management.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The inherent natural adaptive capacity of forest ecosystems to changing environmental conditions is limited by the long life time of trees. Planting of adapted species and forest management will reduce the impact of predicted future climate change on forests.</p

Integrating climate change criteria in reforestation projects using a hybrid decision-support system

The selection of appropriate species in a reforestation project has always been a complex decision making problem in which, due mostly to government policies and other stakeholders, not only economic criteria but also other environmental issues interact. Climate change has not usually been taken into account in traditional reforestation decision-making strategies and management procedures. Moreover, there is a lack of agreement on the percentage of each one of the species in reforestation planning, which is usually calculated in a discretionary way. In this context, an effective multicriteria technique has been developed in order to improve the process of selecting species for reforestation in the Mediterranean region of Spain. A hybrid Delphi-AHP methodology is proposed, which includes a consistency analysis in order to reduce random choices. As a result, this technique provides an optimal percentage distribution of the appropriate species to be used in reforestation planning. The highest values of the weight given for each subcriteria corresponded to FR (fire forest response) and PR (pests and diseases risk), because of the increasing importance of the impact of climate change in the forest. However, CB (conservation of biodiversitiy)was in the third position in line with the aim of reforestation. Therefore, the most suitable species were Quercus faginea (19.75%) and Quercus ilex (19.35%), which offer a good balance between all the factors affecting the success and viability of reforestation.Curiel Esparza, J.; González Utrillas, NV.; Cantó Perelló, J.; Martín Utrillas, MG. (2015). Integrating climate change criteria in reforestation projects using a hybrid decision-support system. Environmental Research Letters. 10(9):1-13. doi:10.1088/1748-9326/10/9/094022S113109Amraoui, M., Pereira, M. G., DaCamara, C. C., & Calado, T. J. (2015). Atmospheric conditions associated with extreme fire activity in the Western Mediterranean region. 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The global politics of forest conservation since the UNCED

The mistrust between North and South which was a feature of the forest negotiations of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) has since slowly given way to a new co‐operative spirit. Following the failure of the UNCED to produce a Global Forests Convention several new international initiatives on forest conservation have emerged. This study describes these processes and analyses their significance. It is argued that progress has been slow and that there is much about the current international forest politics scene that requires clarification. Contentious issues include the role of timber labelling, the future of the processes working towards criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management, and whether a Global Forests Convention is desirable. Two recently‐created fora, the Intergovernmental Panel on Forests and the World Commission on Forests and Sustainable Development, both of which will report to the 1997 session of the Commission on Sustainable Development, may help to clarify the situation. However, it is now clear that many governments from the South intend to extract some measure of economic compensation from the North if they are to agree to significant forest conservation commitments. Much depends on whether a trade‐off can be reached between the environmental concerns of the North and the economic concerns of the South

Minimum requirements for sustainable use of forests in national forest programmes. Elements and principles developed for a study of Swiss forest policy

Both the United Nations Conference on Economic Development in 1992 and the European Union have called for the creation of national forest programmes (NFPs) as a means of ensuring the sustainable development of forests. In recent years, international organizations have also discussed and defined several elements that such NFPs should incorporate. Different concepts prevail, however, and policy experts have not yet reached a uniform and coherent understanding of the concept. In this paper, we develop minimum requirements for a Swiss NFP on the basis of a discussion and comparison of different definitions of NFPs and national environmental plans. We argue that a range of process, content and objective-oriented elements should be included. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. and ERP Environment

Solid Wood and Wood Based Composites: The Challenge of Sustainability Looking for a Short and Smart Supply Chain

The paper takes into account the most important wood based products used in architecture, structural engineering and design. The amount of roundwood, sawnwood and wood panel production is analysed and forest certification is reported as possible tool to ensure a sustainable forest management, fighting illegal logging and deforestation.Asmart reviewof themost usedwood-based products is performed together with the chance to activate a modern short supply chain. The state of art of the wood species actually used is considered together with most important actual challenges addressed to obtain sustainable wood-based products referring to eco- friendly process of gluing and increasing durability. The possibility to use short chain species for structural purposes is reported looking to Italian case studies (chestnut, eucalyptus and pines).Alot of successful prototypes and products have been obtained using short supply species, but research still is needed on the most type or products especially if they are to be used for structural purposes

The early effects of afforestation on biodiversity of grasslands in Ireland

Abstract The target rate of afforestation in Ireland over the next 30 years is 20,000 ha per year, which would result in an increase of the forest cover from the current 10% to 17%. In order to promote sustainable forest management practices, it is essential to know the composition and conservation value of habitats where afforestation is planned and the effects of subsequent planting upon biodiversity. The objectives of this study were to investigate changes in vegetation composition and diversity of grasslands 5 years after afforestation with Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) and determine the primary ecological and management factors responsible for these changes. Species cover, environmental and management data were collected from 16 afforested and unplanted improved and wet grassland site pairs in Ireland. Our results indicate that 5 years after tree planting, there were significant changes in richness, composition, and abundance of species. Competitive and vigorous grasses were more abundant in planted than in unplanted sites, as were generalist species found in both open and wooded habitats, while small-stature shade-sensitive species were less abundant. Vascular plant species richness and Shannon’s diversity index were higher in unplanted wet grassland, than in the planted sites. Bryophyte species richness was higher in planted improved grassland than in unplanted sites. The differences were primarily the result of the exclusion of grazing, ground preparation, changes in nutrient management and drainage for afforestation. Drainage ditches provided a temporary habitat for less competitive species, but the overall effect of drainage was to reduce the diversity of species dependent on wet conditions. Variance partitioning showed differences in the relative influences of environmental and management variables on biodiversity in the two habitats, probably due to the greater pre-afforestation grazing pressure and fertilisation levels in improved grasslands. The differences in biodiversity between planted and unplanted grasslands indicate that afforestation represents a threat to semi-natural habitats where distinctive and highly localised plant communities could potentially occur