Diversification of forest management can mitigate wind damage risk and maintain biodiversity

Potterf, Mária; Eyvindson, Kyle; Blattert, Clemens; Triviño, María; Burner, Ryan C.; Burgas, Daniel; Mönkkönen, Mikko

doi:10.1007/s10342-023-01625-1

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 87 publications

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“…We proposed an increased species diversity at Fusine, where unstable spruce-dominated forests may be regenerated with broadleaved species to aim for better stand stability (Nabuurs et al, 2018). Tree height may be decreased by shortening the rotation length (Albrecht et al, 2012), which also leads to a reduced probability of windthrow damage (Potterf et al, 2023).…”

Section: Priorities For Climate Smart Forestrymentioning

confidence: 99%

Where to start with climate-smart forest management? Climatic risk for forest-based mitigation

Piazza,

Malanchini,

Nevola

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Abstract. Natural disturbances like windthrows or forest fires alter the provision of forest ecosystem services like timber production, protection from natural hazards or carbon sequestration. After a disturbance, forests release large amounts of carbon and therefore change their status from carbon sinks to carbon source for some time. Climate-smart forest management may decrease forest vulnerability to disturbances and thus reduce carbon emissions as a consequence of future disturbances. But how to prioritize stands most in need of climate-smart management? In this study we adopted a risk mapping framework (hazard × vulnerability) to assess the risk to climate-related forest ecosystem services (carbon stock and sink) in forests prone to windthrow (in the Julian Alps, Italy) and forest fires (in the Apennines, Italy). We calculated hazard by using forest fire and windthrow simulation tools, and examined the most important drivers of the respective hazards. We then assessed vulnerability by calculating current carbon stocks and sinks in each forest stands. We used these values together with the calculated hazard to estimate “carbon risk”, and prioritized high-risk stands for climate-smart management. We show that combining disturbance simulation tools and forest carbon measurements may help in risk-related decision making in forests, and taking planning decisions for climate-smart forestry. This approach may be replicated in other mountain forests to help understanding their actual carbon vulnerability to forest disturbances.

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Section: Priorities For Climate Smart Forestrymentioning

confidence: 99%

Where to start with climate-smart forest management? Climatic risk for forest-based mitigation

Piazza,

Malanchini,

Nevola

et al. 2024

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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From calamity to infestation: linking windstorm tree damage to bark beetle outbreak through forest structure and meteorological analysis

Torresani,

Tognetti

2024

Preprint

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In recent years, we have witnessed worldwide, an increase in natural forest disturbances, particularly windstorms, which have caused significant direct and indirect forest damages, often triggering large-scale bark beetle outbreaks. In this study, we investigated the interaction between windstorm-induced tree damage and subsequent bark beetle outbreaks in the northeastern Italian Alps (Province of Belluno and Bolzano), focusing on the 2018 Vaia windstorm and the successive bark beetle infestation started in 2021. Additionally, we aimed to determine whether this potential correlation is influenced by forest structural characteristics such as forest height heterogeneity (HH), forest density, and forest mean height using LiDAR data, or by meteorological factors (mean temperature and cumulative precipitation) through in-situ spatialized information. Our research findings, based on a methodology centered on spatial interactions, indicate a potential link between the bark beetle outbreaks and the windstorm event Vaia occurred three years before. Our results suggest that forest structural variables are, in most of the cases, significantly similar across all areas affected by the bark beetle. This similarity is observed both in forests impacted by the Vaia windstorm and in other Picea abies forests not affected by the windstorm, indicating that these forest structural variables may not be a trigger for the bark beetle outbreak. Our findings do not show a clear and consistently significant difference in meteorological conditions. This variability can be attributed to the specific areas affected by the Vaia windstorm, which are predominantly mountainous regions characterized by distinct temperatures and precipitation compared to the rest of the provinces. When analyzing the combined influence of structural and meteorological variables in both study areas, our results indicate that none of these factors were ultimately significant predictors of the interaction between bark beetle infestations and areas affected by the Vaia windstorm. Our study suggests that, as climate change increases the frequency and severity of these disturbances, adaptable forest management framework to enhance forest resilience and sustainability are needed, helping forests to better withstand and recover from future natural disturbances.

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Managing Global Forests in View of Multiple Goals: An Evidence-Based Perspective

Vizzarri

2024

Land

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Forest ecosystems are increasingly facing challenges related to overexploitation and climate and land-use change, thereby posing a threat to the myriad benefits they provide. Forest management is the only tool for ensuring that adaptation, mitigation, and biodiversity conservation in forest ecosystems are maintained and further enhanced over time. However, forest managers might not have clear guidance on how to ensure these goals are achieved through their practices, which is why a goal-driven management framework is proposed and discussed in this study. The proposed framework provides an overview of the possible effects of alternative forest management practices on climate services, biodiversity conservation, and wood extraction and production. Based on this framework, the following “should-haves” for forest management towards achieving multiple goals are outlined: consideration of the trade-offs between biodiversity and other benefits; the need to reflect on time and space variability; and incorporation of climate sensitivity. The suggested actions are as follows: improve the monitoring framework; implement more robust modeling tools; and further consider policy trajectories.

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Diversification of forest management can mitigate wind damage risk and maintain biodiversity

Cited by 4 publications

References 87 publications

Where to start with climate-smart forest management? Climatic risk for forest-based mitigation

Where to start with climate-smart forest management? Climatic risk for forest-based mitigation

From calamity to infestation: linking windstorm tree damage to bark beetle outbreak through forest structure and meteorological analysis

Managing Global Forests in View of Multiple Goals: An Evidence-Based Perspective

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