Awareness, detection and management of new and emerging tree pests and pathogens in Europe: stakeholders' perspectives

Emerging and invasive tree pests and pathogens in Europe are increasing in number and range, having impacts on biodiversity, forest services, ecosystems and human well-being. Stakeholders involved in tree and forest management contribute to the detection and management of new and emerging tree pests and pathogens (PnPs). We surveyed different groups of stakeholders in European countries. The stakeholders were mainly researchers, tree health surveyors and forest managers, as well as forest owners, nurseries, policy-makers, advisors, forestry authorities, NGOs and civil society. We investigated which tools they used to detect and manage PnPs, surveyed their current PnP awareness and knowledge and collated the new and emerging PnP species of concern to them. The 237 respondents were based in 15 European coun-tries, with the majority from the United Kingdom, France and the Czech Republic. There was a strong participation of respondents with a work focus on research and surveying, whereas timber traders and plant importers were less represented. Respondents were surveyed on 18 new, emerging PnPs in Europe and listed an additional 37 pest species and 21 pathogen species as potential future threats. We found that species on EPPO's list of 'priority pests' were better known than those not listed.Stakeholders working in urban environments were more aware of PnPs compared to those working in rural areas. Stakeholders' awareness of PnPs was not related to the number of new, emerging PnP species present in a country. Stakeholders want access to more detection and management tools, including long-term citizen -sci-ence monitoring, maps showing spread and range of new PnPs, pest identification smartphone apps, hand-held detection devices, drone monitoring and eDNA metabarcoding. To help facilitate better forest health across Europe, they called for mixed forest development, reduced nursery stock movement, biosecurity and data sharing amongst organisations. These results indicate that stakeholder knowledge of a few key PnP may be good, but given that the large diversity of threats is so large and future risks unknown, we conclude that multiple and varied methods for generic detection, mitigation and management methods, many in devel-opment, are needed in the hands of stakeholders surveying and managing trees and woodlands in Europe

Sustainability Assessment of current and recommended methods : TECH4EFFECT project report

The TECH4EFFECT project (http://www.tech4effect.eu/), funded by the "Bio Based Industries Joint Undertaking under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program", is an international research collaboration of 20 partners from science and industry. The objective of the project is to enhance efficient wood production, by adapting the management of European forests to the requirements of a modern bioeconomy, and to meet new challenges such as climate change. Data and knowledge- based management will enable more efficient silviculture and harvesting, but also reduction of soil and environmental impact from forest operations with the TECH4EFFECT benchmarking system. Within the Tech4Effect project, the baseline reference of current and most common wood value chain practices in major EU regions (Northern, Central, Southern, Eastern EU) from stand regeneration to timber at road side was defined, building on the processes and supply chains gathered in Work Package (WP)5.This was done in a process-based approach, integrating the silvicultural and operational practices with current volumes of growing stock and fellings, calculating material flows along those wood value chains and quantifying via a set of indicators their environmental, social and economic performance. In a second step, the TECH4EFFECT scenarios of increased wood mobilization (link to WP2) and improved efficiency (link to WP3) was compared against the baseline. The analysis focused on the study cases analysed in WP2, WP3 & WP4, using the Tool for Sustainability Impact Assessment ToSIA (Lindner et al., 2010). The analysis of the environmental wood chain performance considered greenhouse gas emissions (consistent with LCA methodology), energy use, and soil impact indicators. Social impacts were studied in terms of employment effects and occupational safety. The economic performance of the alternative wood value chains was analysed with cost-benefit analysis. Indicators as well as data needs for calculating these pan-European indicator values was harmonised in close cooperation with WP5. This deliverable report consists of bottom-up upscaling from work studies and case studies to national level for selected representative countries, as well as top-down assessments at EU level and disaggregated impacts for four regions: Northern EU (NEU), Southern EU (SEU), Eastern EU (EEU) and Central EU (CEU). These impacts have been cross referenced to the Tech4Effect goals: Efficiency goals of 20% reduced production costs, 15% reductions in fuel consumptions, less environmental impacts (soil damage) and 2% increased forest (yield) productivity. These goals are discussed per impact category and technological solution. In addition, digitalisation and biofuels are assessed and discussed as options to mobilise timber at reduced environmental impact

Early survival and growth plasticity of 33 species planted in 38 arboreta across the European Atlantic area

To anticipate European climate scenarios for the end of the century, we explored the climate gradient within the REINFFORCE (RÉseau INFrastructure de recherche pour le suivi et l’adaptation des FORêts au Changement climatiquE) arboreta network, established in 38 sites between latitudes 37 and 57 , where 33 tree species are represented. We aim to determine which climatic variables best explain their survival and growth, and identify those species that are more tolerant of climate variation and those of which the growth and survival future climate might constrain. We used empirical models to determine the best climatic predictor variables that explain tree survival and growth. Precipitation-transfer distance was most important for the survival of broadleaved species, whereas growing-season-degree days best explained conifer-tree survival. Growth (annual height increment) was mainly explained by a derived annual dryness index (ADI) for both conifers and broadleaved trees. Species that showed the greatest variation in survival and growth in response to climatic variation included Betula pendula Roth, Pinus elliottii Engelm., and Thuja plicata Donn ex D.Don, and those that were least affected included Quercus shumardii Buckland and Pinus nigra J.F.Arnold. We also demonstrated that provenance differences were significant for Pinus pinea L., Quercus robur L., and Ceratonia siliqua L. Here, we demonstrate the usefulness of infrastructures along a climatic gradient like REINFFORCE to determine major tendencies of tree species responding to climate changesinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

How sensitive are ecosystem services in European forest landscapes to silvicultural treatment?

While sustainable forestry in Europe is characterized by the provision of a multitude of forest ecosystem services, there exists no comprehensive study that scrutinizes their sensitivity to forest management on a pan-European scale, so far. We compile scenario runs from regionally tailored forest growth models and Decision Support Systems (DSS) from 20 case studies throughout Europe and analyze whether the ecosystem service provision depends on management intensity and other co-variables, comprising regional affiliation, social environment, and tree species composition. The simulation runs provide information about the case-specifically most important ecosystem services in terms of appropriate indicators. We found a strong positive correlation between management intensity and wood production, but only weak correlation with protective and socioeconomic forest functions. Interestingly, depending on the forest region, we found that biodiversity can react in both ways, positively and negatively, to increased management intensity. Thus, it may be in tradeoff or in synergy with wood production and forest resource maintenance. The covariables species composition and social environment are of punctual interest only, while the affiliation to a certain region often makes an important difference in terms of an ecosystem service’s treatment sensitivityinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

DMTs and Covid-19 severity in MS: a pooled analysis from Italy and France

We evaluated the effect of DMTs on Covid-19 severity in patients with MS, with a pooled-analysis of two large cohorts from Italy and France. The association of baseline characteristics and DMTs with Covid-19 severity was assessed by multivariate ordinal-logistic models and pooled by a fixed-effect meta-analysis. 1066 patients with MS from Italy and 721 from France were included. In the multivariate model, anti-CD20 therapies were significantly associated (OR = 2.05, 95%CI = 1.39–3.02, p < 0.001) with Covid-19 severity, whereas interferon indicated a decreased risk (OR = 0.42, 95%CI = 0.18–0.99, p = 0.047). This pooled-analysis confirms an increased risk of severe Covid-19 in patients on anti-CD20 therapies and supports the protective role of interferon

Projet FORSEE : un réseau de zones pilotes pour la gestion durable des forêts de l'Arc Atlantique : rapport final Aquitaine : partie 1 synthèse : février 2007

FORSEE est un projet financé sur la période 2003-2007 par le Fonds européen de développement régional (FEDER) à hauteur de 1,8 M€, dans le cadre du Programme Interreg III B "Espace Atlantique". Ce projet d’un montant global de 3 M€ est coordonné par l’IEFC (Institut Européen de la Forêt Cultivée) et rassemble 23 partenaires (organismes de recherche, de développement et socioprofessionnels). Le projet FORSEE a pour ambition de consolider le processus de certification de la gestion durable des forêts au niveau régional. La faisabilité, le coût et la pertinence des indicateurs de gestion durable des forêts ont été testés sur un réseau de 8 zones pilotes de plusieurs milliers d’hectares de forêt sur 4 pays de l’Arc Atlantique. Au niveau Aquitain, la zone pilote de Pontenx-les Forges d’une superficie de 100 000 ha, au sein du Massif des Landes de Gascogne, a été choisie pour tester et évaluer en grandeur réelle les critères et indicateurs liés aux thèmes suivants : le stockage du Carbone, la santé des forêts, la production de bois, la biodiversité, la protection des eaux et des sols, la propriété forestière et l’emploi de la filière. Le projet FORSEE, par la mise en place d’un réseau de zone pilote aux échelles régionales et par l’harmonisation des méthodes d’évaluation des critères et indicateurs, constitue une approche pertinente pour la gestion durable des forêts d’une part et pour le transfert de connaissances aux gestionnaires concernés d’autre part. Au-delà des valeurs de référence des indicateurs mesurés dans FORSEE et de l’estimation des coûts afférents à leur évaluation, les avancées apportées par le projet concernent des développements méthodologiques pour des indicateurs prioritaires d’évaluation de la Gestion Durable des Forêts (GDF). Ces valeurs de références et ces méthodologies pourront constituer à l’avenir la base d’un monitoring régional de la Gestion Durable des Forêts en articulation avec les suivis nationaux ou européen