MOdels for AdapTIVE forest Management (MOTIVE)

Description:

In the project MOdels for AdapTIVE forest Management (MOTIVE) the consequences of the intensified competition for forest resources given climate and land use change have been evaluated. The project focused on a wide range of European forest types under different environmental conditions and intensities of forest management. In particular, MOTIVE examined impacts with respect to the disturbance regimes determining forest dynamics. This included the description of shifts in potential tree species ranges based on climate projections and of the genetic adaptation of tree species to climate change. Furthermore disturbance risks to European forests with focus on wind, fire and bark beetles have been mapped.

MOTIVE intended to develop and evaluate strategies that can adapt forest management practices to balance multiple objectives under changing environmental conditions. The evaluation of different adaptive management systems took place within a scenario analysis and a regional landscape framework. A wide range of possible scenarios has been taken into account on different time scales. Based on ten case studies in different countries the main forest types in Europe for the most important bioclimatic regions have been covered.  The most important goods and services delivered by European forests have been assessed using the most up to date models. Several types of decision making approaches and their implications for adaptive forest management (AFM) have been assessed. The ultimate objective of the MOTIVE project was to provide insights, data and tools to improve policy making and adaptive forest resource management in the face of rapidly changing climatic and land-use conditions.  One of the main deliverables of MOTIVE was an Adaptive Forest Management (AFM) toolbox. The toolbox provides up-to-date methods for planning and decision making in AFM to the decision maker (forest resource managers, policy makers) for actual use in strategic and tactical forest management planning.

Overview of major research activities and achievements of MOTIVE, FP7 project are published in a booklet, which represents the state of the art in science-based information on adaptation of European forests to climate change.

Project information

Lead

Forest Research Institute of Baden-Wuerttemberg (DE)

Partners

Alterra B.V. (NL), Albert Ludwigs Universitat Freiburg (DE), University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences (AT), Center for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications (ES), European Forest Institute, including EFIMED Mediterranean Regional Office (INT), Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (CH), FORECO Technologies (ES), Forest Research (UK), Forest ResearchInstituteofBaden-Wurtemberg (DE), Institute of Forest Ecosystem Research (CZ), French National Institute for Agriculture (FR), Technical University of Lisboa (PT), PENSOFT Publishers Ltd (BG), Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (DE), Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SE), University of Copenhagen, Forest Landscape (DK), University of Forestry (BG), University of Eastern Finland (FI), University Stefan Cel Mare, Suceava (RO), Swiss Federal Research Institute (CH)

Source of funding

FP 7 - ENV