Forest growth in Europe shows diverging large regional trends

Forests cover about one-third of Europe's surface and their growth is essential for climate protection through carbon sequestration and many other economic, environmental, and sociocultural ecosystem services. However, reports on how climate change affects forest growth are contradictory, even for same regions. We used 415 unique long-term experiments including 642 plots across Europe covering seven tree species and surveys from 1878 to 2016, and showed that on average forest growth strongly accelerated since the earliest surveys. Based on a subset of 189 plots in Scots pine (the most widespread tree species in Europe) and high-resolution climate data, we identified clear large-regional differences; growth is strongly increasing in Northern Europe and decreasing in the Southwest. A less pronounced increase, which is probably not mainly driven by climate, prevails on large areas of Western, Central and Eastern Europe. The identified regional growth trends suggest adaptive management on regional level for achieving climate-smart forests.

Can Forest Management Practices Counteract Species Loss Arising from Increasing European Demand for Forest Biomass under Climate Mitigation Scenarios?

Forests are home to many species and provide biomass for material and energy. Here, we modeled the potential global species extinction risk from future scenarios of climate mitigation and EU28 forest management. We considered the continuation of current practices, the adoption of closer-to-nature management (low-intensity practices), and set-asides (conversion to unharvested forestland) on portions of EU28 forestland under two climate mitigation pathways as well as the consequences for the wood trade. Expanding set-aside to more than 25% of EU28 currently managed forestland by 2100 increased the global extinction risk compared to the continuation of current practices. This outcome stems from a projected increase in EU forest biomass imports, partially from biodiversity-vulnerable regions to compensate for a decrease in domestic harvest. Conversely, closer-to-nature management on up to 37.5% of EU28 forestland lowered extinction risks. Increasing the internal production and partially sourcing imported biomass from low-intensity managed areas lowered the species extinction footprint even further. However, low-intensity practices could not entirely compensate for the increased extinction risk under a high climate mitigation scenario with greater demand for lignocellulosic crops and energywood. When developing climate mitigation strategies, it is crucial to assess forest biomass supply chains for the early detection of extinction risks in non-EU regions and for developing strategies to prevent increase of global impacts.

Trends in Research on Forest Ecosystem Services in the Most Recent 20 Years: A Bibliometric Analysis

Forest resources and the flow of ecosystem services they provide play a key role in supporting national and regional economies, improving people’s lives, protecting biodiversity, and mitigating the impacts of climate change. Based on the ISI (Institute of Scientific Information) Web of Science (WoS) database, we used a bibliometric approach to analyze the research status, evolution process, and hotspots of forest ecosystem services (FES) from a compilation of 8797 documents published between 1997 and 2019. The results indicated that: (1) research on forest ecosystem services has developed rapidly over the past 23 years. Institutions in the United States and other developed countries have significantly contributed to undertake research on the topic of ecosystem services. (2) The 11 hotpot key focus areas of completed research were payments for ecosystem services, biodiversity conservation, forest governance, ecosystem approaches, climate change, nitrogen, ecosystem management, pollination, cities, ecological restoration, and policy. (3) The trade-off relationships among ecosystem services, ecosystem resilience and stability have become the research frontier in this field. (4) Future research on FES will likely focus on the formation and evolution mechanism of ecosystem services; the interaction, feedback and intrinsic connections of ecosystem services at different scales; analysis of the trade-offs and synergies; unified evaluation standards, evaluation systems, model construction and scenario analyses; in-depth studies of the internal correlation mechanism between forest ecosystem services and human wellbeing; and realization of cross-disciplinary and multi-method integration in sustainable forest management and decision-making.

Promoting Biodiversity Conservation Requires a Better Understanding of the Relationships Between Ecosystem Services and Multiple Biodiversity Dimensions

In order to reverse the global trend of biodiversity loss, the concept of ecosystem services has been widely applied to make policymakers and the general public realize that conserving biodiversity possesses both intrinsic and utilitarian values. However, to achieve this goal, it is necessary to first have a clear understanding of the relationships between biodiversity and ecosystem services (BES). To advance our understanding of this issue, we first reviewed the major progress in current BES studies, with an emphasis on three biodiversity dimensions (i.e., taxonomic diversity, functional diversity, and ecosystem diversity). Based on the findings, we then propose three research topics as future directions: (1) More direct and explicit studies on the effects of different dimensions of biodiversity on various ecosystem service types; (2) developing a biodiversity-based understanding of the formation of ecosystem services; (3) creation of science-based ecosystem management plans and policies that can maximize synergies between biodiversity conservation and ecosystem service enhancement. By conducting such research, we will be able to not only further understand the complex relationships between biodiversity and ecosystem services but also better promote the concept of ecosystem services for more successful biodiversity conservation in the future.

Between Biodiversity Conservation and the Supply for Broadleaved Wood: A Case Study of State Forests National Forest Holding (Poland)

Climate change is an important issue that increasingly affects our lives. One of the proposals for mitigating climate change is fighting biodiversity loss, which can support climate mitigation and adaptation actions. In Poland, the possibility of excluding large tracts of forest areas from use is being considered. The discussed the exclusion of forest land from use will affect the timber supply and market, especially for broadleaved wood. The main purpose of this analysis is to present a timber supply forecast, with a particular focus on the possibility of obtaining broadleaved hardwood timber in Poland from forests managed by State Forests National Forest Holding under three scenarios that assume different criteria for selecting forest areas for protection. The work was divided into two main phases: (1) the analysis of historical sales volume of wood products and average sale prices of hardwood during the period 2011–2020; (2) the preparation of a forecast of the potential possibility of maintaining broadleaved hardwood production in the three decades between 2020 and 2049. In the forecast, it was assumed that about 2.7 million hectares of planted and production forests are excluded from use in order to implement the provisions of the 2030 Biodiversity Strategy. In Scenario “I”, the supply of merchantable broadleaved roundwood volume will be reduced to 14%–18% that of Scenario “0”. In Scenario “II”, 55% of the “0” scenario is harvested, and in Scenario “III”, 33%–37% of the “0” scenario merchantable broadleaved roundwood is harvested. The introduction of restrictions on timber harvesting as a result of Poland’s compliance with European Union requirements in the area of environmental protection will lead to a significant reduction in the supply of timber on the market. This may lead to a further increase in timber prices and an increase in the importance of large timber buyers at the expense of local buyers. The recommendations contained in the policy objectives that the EU sets for the states should be supported by a thorough analysis when selecting areas for strict protection.

Does Aiming for Long-Term Non-Decreasing Flow of Timber Secure Carbon Accumulation: A Lithuanian Forestry Case

Lithuanian forestry has long been shaped by the classical normal forest theory, aiming for even long-term flow of timber, and the aspiration to preserve domestic forest resources, leading to very conservative forest management. With radically changing forest management conditions, climate change mitigation efforts suggest increasing timber demands in the future. The main research question asked in this study addresses whether current forest management principles in Lithuania can secure non-decreasing long-term flow of timber and carbon accumulation. The development of national forest resources and forestry was simulated for the next century using the Kupolis decision support system and assuming that current forest management is continued under the condition of three scenarios, differing by climate change mitigation efforts. Potential development trends of key forest attributes were analysed and compared with projected carbon stock changes over time, incorporating major forest carbon pools—biomass, harvested wood products and emission savings due to energy and product substitution. The key finding was that the total carbon balance should remain positive in Lithuania during the next one hundred years; however, it might start to decrease after several decades, with steadily increasing harvesting and a reduced increase of forest productivity. Additionally, incorporating the harvested wood and CO2 emissions savings in carbon balance evaluations is essential.

Combining Tree Species Composition and Understory Coverage Indicators with Optimization Techniques to Address Concerns with Landscape-Level Biodiversity

Sustainable forest management needs to address biodiversity conservation concerns. For that purpose, forest managers need models and indicators that may help evaluate the impact of management options on biodiversity under the uncertainty of climate change scenarios. In this research we explore the potential for designing mosaics of stand-level forest management models to address biodiversity conservation objectives on a broader landscape-level. Our approach integrates (i) an effective stand-level biodiversity indicator that reflect tree species composition, stand age, and understory coverage under divergent climate conditions; and (ii) linear programming optimization techniques to guide forest actors in seeing optimal forest practices to safeguard future biodiversity. Emphasis is on the efficiency and effectiveness of an approach to help assess the impact of forest management planning on biodiversity under scenarios of climate change. Results from a resource capability model are discussed for an application to a large-scale problem encompassing 14,765 ha, extending over a 90-years planning horizon and considering two local-climate scenarios. They highlight the potential of the approach to help assess the impact of both stand and landscape-level forest management models on biodiversity conservation goals. They demonstrate further that the approach provides insights about how climate change, timber demand and wildfire resistance may impact plans that target the optimization of biodiversity values. The set of optimized long-term solutions emphasizes a multifunctional forest that guarantees a desirable local level of biodiversity and resilience to wildfires, while providing a balanced production of wood over time at the landscape scale.