CLIMATE-FIT FORESTS

Solutions for adapted forest management strategies under the threat of climate change - learning from a climate gradient from Germany over Italy to South Africa

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'Forests play an important role in carbon fixation and in providing CO2 neutral raw materials. Due to predicted climate changes it is important to know to what extent European forests will be impacted by climate change, how best to mitigate these potential changes through adaptive forest management strategies, maintain current carbon fixation rates and minimize carbon emissions by forest operations. By utilizing the unique temperature and moisture gradient along a north-south orientation from Germany to Italy and South Africa, and with South Africa’s warmer climate and arid conditions, it is potentially possible to simulate future predicted climatic conditions in Europe. This methodology will also allow observations of the characteristics and behavior of close-to-nature forests versus plantation forests as found in each of the partner countries under climate change conditions.

As deliverable, existing management tools will be adapted and improved to be able to provide predictions for suitable management strategies under climate changes conditions.'

Introduzione (Teaser)

An international partnership between Europe and South Africa is mapping forest degradation in both the southern and northern hemispheres. The resulting software and data exchange system will help combat climate change and protect the world's forests.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

Climate change is no longer scientific conjecture but a reality that governments must tackle head on to mitigate its impacts, which can affect whole societies and their livelihood.

Forest management is a key component in controlling climate change, and the EU is working fervently on this front to create solutions that could help forests around the world.

The EU-funded project http://www.climatefitforests.eu (CLIMATE-FIT FORESTS) is helping to unravel the effects of climate change on forest growth dynamics.Looking at a climate gradient from Germany to Italy to South Africa, the project team is assessing mitigation options involved in managing forests.

To achieve this, the project has gathered together experts from Germany, Italy, South Africa and Switzerland.

It has already worked in forests in both hemispheres, examining the effect of different limitations of above-ground and below-ground resources on growth processes and structural patterns of trees.

The shifting difference or gradient is enabling the team to compare forest management strategies with respect to carbon dioxide release, focusing on common trees in all areas, such as pine and oak.

Eucalyptus trees were also studied in South Africa considering their importance in the country.More specifically, the project is looking at carbon sequestration in forests impacted by climate change by examining the phenomenon's effects on individual tree growth with a focus on inner and outer wood properties.

It will then develop simulation and management tools for forests under threat.

An important characteristic of the project is that it is involving students and young scientists in research activities, in addition to conducting training for students and scientists.

Topics under study include dendro-ecological analysis, root-shoot analysis of trees, mixed forest stand research and biometric evaluation, as well as forest growth modelling and simulation.

Already, the project has conducted several successful trials, equipping pine and eucalyptus trees with permanent electronic sensors.

It established a data exchange system and analysed tree performance, yielding a first peer-reviewed paper.

The team also developed software for calculating carbon emissions and contributed at conferences.Overall, the project is enhancing available knowledge in understanding forest system dynamics with respect to climate change, providing valuable tools to help estimate carbon emissions.

Better software and prognosis models could potentially support forests around the world in the quest to mitigate the effects of climate change.

The road ahead is long, but there may be light at the end of the tunnel for the sustainability of our forests.