4:09 p.m.
Dear IUFRO Meliaceae Working party:
Below is IUFRO Spotlight #66. Other Spotlights can be found at:
http://www.iufro.org/media/iufro-spotlights/
Regards,
Sheila Ward
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: IUFRO Headquarters <office(a)iufro.org>
Date: Tue, Jun 4, 2019 at 8:58 AM
Subject: IUFRO Spotlight #66 - A forest mix may best address global change
To: Dear IUFRO Officeholder <mahoganyforthefuture(a)gmail.com>
[image: IUFRO Spotlight]
IUFRO Spotlight #66 - A forest mix may best address global change
*IUFRO Spotlight* is an initiative of the International Union of Forest
Research Organizations. Its aim is to introduce, in a timely fashion,
significant findings in forest research from IUFRO officeholders and member
organizations to a worldwide network of decision makers, policy makers and
researchers.
IUFRO will encapsulate, and distribute in plain language, brief, topical
and policy-relevant highlights of those findings, along with information on
where/how to access the full documents. The *IUFRO Spotlight* findings will
be distributed in a periodic series of emails as well as blog postings.
*________________________________*
A forest mix may best address global change
PDF for download
<https://www.iufro.org/fileadmin/material/publications/spotlights/spotlight66-mixed-forests.pdf>
[image: Photo showing Mixed stand of Pinus sylvestris and Quercus pyrenaica
in Matas Forest (Valsaín), Central Spain. Photo: Andrés Bravo-Oviedo.]
Mixed stand: Pinus sylvestris / Quercus pyrenaica.
Managing a mixed forest in the context of environmental and social change
is the focus of a recent publication put together by members of IUFRO
Research Group 1.09.00 (Ecology and Management of Mixed Forests).
The structure, dynamics and functioning of such forests are increasingly
relevant topics for researchers.
There are several reasons for this. According to the European Network on
Mixed Forests (EuMIXFOR), mixed forests present more resistance to human
and non-human disturbances; have higher biodiversity levels; have higher
carbon storage capacity and thus higher potential for mitigation
strategies; allow for better adaptation strategies for global change; and
have higher productivity and support for ecosystem services.
The new publication, which looks at the interplay among environmental
drivers, social demands and forestry alternatives, is the final outcome of
a European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) Action that funded
EuMIXFOR, said Dr. Andrés Bravo-Oviedo, of the Department of Biogeography
and Global Change, National Museum of Natural Sciences, Spanish National
Research Council and one of the editors of *Dynamics, Silviculture and
Management of Mixed Forests*.
"Even if we agree that mixed forests are the most resilient option to cope
with changing conditions such as climate, we still know little about the
response of mixtures," said Dr. Bravo-Oviedo, who is also coordinator of
IUFRO RG 1.09.00. "Our publication gives some hints to help implement
correct management of existing mixed forests and the creation of new ones."
Among the issues the publication delves into are:
- What species mixture is better adapted to current environmental
conditions and social demands?
- What species composition would cope better with climate change?
- Are mixtures always more productive than monocultures?
- What are the drivers of stability in mixed stands?
- How do ecosystem processes and functions in mixed forests affect the
delivery of ecosystem services?
For practitioners, the book offers different silvicultural methods,
including regeneration and plantation designs for managing mixed-species
forests. Students will be able to take advantage of recent research
findings on forest dynamics, like growth and structure, and the public will
be informed about the role of mixed forests in a changing world, he said.
Dr. Bravo-Oviedo noted that mixtures are complex systems whose behavior
depends on species interactions that can be positive or negative depending
on environmental conditions.
"Human systems and their changing demands on ecosystem services add more
complexity to the picture. Decision makers must be aware that changes in
any system can affect policy outcomes, and it is difficult for policy
makers to make decisions when the outcomes are ‘open' and uncertain," he
said.
"Human societies," he went on to explain, "are requiring more services
from
forests – both commodities and amenities. Sometimes the demand is high for
services that might have trade-offs, and the prevalence of one or another
demand would depend on market availability and-or societal context (users'
preferences)."
In terms of policy implications, Dr. Bravo-Oviedo said: "We presented an
integrated framework of relationships between drivers of change and forest
components under the umbrella of socio-ecological systems.
"Policy makers could use this framework to assess whether their decisions
on mixed forests will affect negatively or positively either the ecological
or the social system – or both.
"Building resilient forest systems in the context of Global Change requires
increased tree species richness," he added.
"Policies encouraging the use of mixed forests can help in accomplishing
international commitments like the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, (the 20
measureable, time-bound targets of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity that
should be met by 2020) the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the UN Global
Forest Goals or Paris' Agreement.
"However," he went on, "it will take time to fully understand the dynamics
of mixtures and the impacts of forest management on the delivery of
ecosystem services from species-rich forests."
He explained that the publication gathers the knowledge and expertise from
more than 200 EuMIXFOR participants and summarizes, among other things, the
current practice of silviculture for mixed forests and the role of
mixed-species plantations to increase resilience in Europe, Argentina and
Chile.
"Researchers are doing their part to bridge knowledge gaps but the full
understanding will require the participation of all stakeholders: policy
makers, industry, forest managers and civil society," he said.
The publication can be found at:
https://www.springer.com/la/book/9783319919522
About IUFRO Research Group 1.09.00 - Ecology and silviculture of mixed
forests: https://www.iufro.org/science/divisions/division-1/10000/10900/
*________________________________*
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Visit: https://www.iufro.org/
*________________________________*
*IUFRO Spotlight #66, published in June 2019*
*by IUFRO Headquarters, Marxergasse 2, 1030 Vienna, Austria. Available for
download at: **https://www.iufro.org/media/iufro-spotlights/
<https://www.iufro.org/media/iufro-spotlights/>*
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