Adaptation of FORest management to CLIMATE variability: an ecological approach (LIFE AFORCLIMATE)

Description:

The general objective of the LIFE AFORCLIMATE project is to maintain and improve the efficiency of the beech forest ecosystem in the Apennines, through effective forest management that is adapted to climate change. To achieve this objective, the project will define a method for measuring likely impacts of climatic factors so as to manage beech forests in ways that promote forest regeneration and seed production and ensure resilience.

Climate change is known to influence forest tree growth response and the CO2 cycle. Dendroclimatological research has shown that the climate signal, species composition, and growth trends have changed in different types of forest ecosystems during the last century. Under current and demonstrated changes in climate variability at geographic, regional, and local levels tree growth shows variability and trends that can be non-stationary over time even at relatively short distance between sites.

In forest planning and management, yield tables, site quality indices, age class, rate of growth, and spatial distribution are some of the most used tools and parameters. However, these methods do not involve climate variability over time although climate is the main driver in trends of forest and tree growth. For example, changing climate conditions may impact on temperature and/or precipitation thresholds critical to forest tree growth. Forest biomass, resilience, and CO2 storage may be damaged unless forest planning and management implement the relationships between climate variability and trends of tree growth.

The project aims to achieve biomass increases (and therefore CO2 sequestration) of 5-7% to 15-20% compared to the reference value deriving from the application of the traditional approach. This will also increase overall ecosystem functionality.

The project expects to achieve the following results:

• To make forest management actions in the project areas consistent with adaptation to climate change;
• To create a detailed forecast model for forestry management that takes climate change variability into account;
• To develop a monitoring scheme to assess, by the end of the project, the impacts of the approach to forest management in terms of regeneration capacity, production capacity and biodiversity. This scheme will take into consideration the entire ecosystem of beech forest and all components essential for appropriate forest management; and
• To develop an extensive information campaign. 

Project information

Lead

Centro di Ricerca per la Selvicoltura (CREA-SEL), Italy,

Partners

Regione Molise, Italy

REGIONE SICILIANA - Assessorato Regionale dell’Agricoltura dello Sviluppo rurale e della Pesca Mediterranea, Italy

Unione Montana dei Comuni del Mugello, Italy

D.R.E.AM. Italia società cooperativa agricolo forestale, Italy

Compagnia delle Foreste s.r.l., Italy

Università di Palermo - Dipartimento Scienze Agrarie e Forestali, Italy

Università degli Studi del Molise, Italy

Source of funding

LIFE Programme