Can triad forestry reconcile Europe’s biodiversity and forestry strategies? A critical evaluation of forest zoning

Balancing increasing demand for wood products while also maintaining forest biodiversity is a paramount challenge. Europe’s Biodiversity and Forest Strategies for 2030 attempt to address this challenge. Together, they call for strict protection of 10% of land area, including all primary and old grow...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Authors: Nagel, Thomas A., Rodríguez Recio, Maríano, Aakala, Tuomas, Angelstam, Per, Avdagić, Admir, Borowski, Zbigniew, Bravo Oviedo, Andrés, Brazaitis, Gediminas, Campagnaro, Thomas, Ciach, Michał, Curovic, Milic, Doerfler, Inken, Burrascano, Sabina
Format: article
Publication Date:2024
Country:España
Institution:Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM)
Repository:Docta Complutense
Language:English
OAI Identifier:oai:docta.ucm.es:20.500.14352/118251
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/118251
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:574.3
630*2(4)
581.526.42
Biodiversity conservation
Disturbance
Forest management
Forest reserve
Land sharing/sparing
Wood production
Botánica (Biología)
Ecología (Biología)
3106 Ciencia Forestal
3106.08 Silvicultura
2417.13 Ecología Vegetal
Description
Summary:Balancing increasing demand for wood products while also maintaining forest biodiversity is a paramount challenge. Europe’s Biodiversity and Forest Strategies for 2030 attempt to address this challenge. Together, they call for strict protection of 10% of land area, including all primary and old growth forests, increasing use of ecological forestry, and less reliance on monocultural plantations. Using data on country wide silvicultural practices and a new database on strict forest reserves across Europe, we assess how triad forest zoning could help meet these goals. Our analysis reveals that zoning in Europe is overwhelmingly focused on wood production, while there has been little concomitant protection of forests in strict reserves. Moreover, most strict forest reserves are < 50 ha in size, likely too small to capture the minimum dynamic area necessary to sustain many taxa. We outline research priorities to meet future demands for timber while minimizing the impact on native biodiversity.

Similar Items