CLIMPRO · Climate proofing future forest management

Climate proofing future forest management

Forests have been managed, since pre-Roman times, for the provision of food, building material and fuel. Today, forests produce wood for construction and energy, and pulp for paper production and chemical transformation. In addition, forests are recognized to provide a variety of ecosystem services such as an environment for recreation, sanctuaries for biodiversity, preventing soil erosion and regulating water infiltration. Since the Kyoto Protocol, carbon-sequestration and ultimately climate change mitigation have become prominent forest-based ecosystem services. Consequently, 70% of global forests are now under some form of management. These forests provide the equivalent of over US$3,000 per hectare per year in ecosystem services4. Under severe climate change, which now seems likely to occur, the value of forests, could drastically decrease. Hence, in the light of ongoing climate change, new forest management systems need to be applied to sustain the provision of forest-based ecosystem services without scarifying forest productivity. Fnally the main goal of CLIMPRO is to quantify how adaptive management can affect the provision of ecosystem services, focusing on wood production, river runoff and climate change mitigation. The study will enhance our understanding of how adaptive management can contribute to climate change mitigation or, on the contrary, may exacerbate climate change while sustaining forest-based ecosystem services.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union