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WP2: FOREST AND BIODIVERSITY MANAGEMENT

WP leader

L. Coll, P12.

Participants

P1, P1sc, P4, P5, P7, P9, P10, P11, P12, P13, P15

The WP2 aims at defining innovative and science-based forest management and planning recommendations at different operational scales and for different Mediterranean forest types oriented to both: the provision of desired ecosystem services and the enhancement of the resilience and adaptive capacity of the system in the face of global change. The WP2 is structured into two different tasks: (i) the development of a conceptual framework to generate global change scenarios for the Mediterranean region and the use of this framework to define specific scenarios for selected case studies and (ii) the definition of forest management strategies within integrated global change scenarios developed for different study areas and the projection of its effects in terms of forest structure and composition. The information derived from this WP2 will be the basis for the economic assessment of the best practices proposed to reach the abovementioned objectives (developed in WP4) and for the characterization of the response of the ecosystem in terms of biological flexibility (developed in WP3).

T2.1: Elaboration of global change scenarios for the Mediterranean region

Task leaders

L. Brotons, P12 with the help of Z. Nasr, P15.

Objectives

To elaborate a conceptual framework to generate global change scenarios for the Mediterranean region and to apply this framework for the definition of specific scenarios for selected case studies. Scenarios will integrate socioeconomic storylines using a structured framework and will identify their associated drivers of environmental change with specially impact on forest dynamics. Special attention will be devoted to climate changes, changes in disturbance regimes (including fire) and social impacts.

Methodology

First, a survey of existing initiatives including international efforts such as the Millenium Ecosystem Assessment and IPBES, methodologies and publications related to the generation of global change scenarios will be done. In a second stage, a workshop will be organized with the aim of setting up a general downscalable methodological framework for the generation of global change scenarios for the Mediterranean region. The members of WP2, WP4 and some of WP3, a selected group of external experts and the members of the Stakeholder Panel will be invited to participate. The elaborated methodology will be used for the generation of specific scenarios for selected study cases (see T2.2).

Deliverables

D2.1

Milestones

M2.1, M2.2, M2.3

T2.2: Definition of adaptive management strategies for the Mediterranean region

Task leaders

J. Retana, P11 with the help of J.A. Bonet, P12.

Objectives

To provide for a selected number of case studies representative of most widely distributed Mediterranean forest types: (i) multi-scale adaptive management strategies oriented to the provision of ecosystem services for the society and (ii) an analysis of the consequences of the use or absence of management strategies in terms of vegetation dynamics  and provision of ecosystem services.

Methodology

A set of forest management strategies will be defined for specific case studies. Management strategies will be subjected to specific global change scenarios (defined in T2.1) and to local socio-economic constraints and will be applied to both, the four integrated case studies and to selection of focused case studies. All case studies will be characterized by: (1) an operational spatial-scale, (2) a forest type and (3) one (or various) management objectives. Then an evaluation of the response of the forest ecosystem (in terms of structure and composition) to the different management strategies described above, including a non strategic management scenario, will be performed with the use of empirical and mechanistic models operating at different spatial scales. A cartographic representation of selected ecosystem services in response to the previously defined management strategies will also be generated (for regional/landscape case studies only). Finally, adaptive and innovative forest management strategies for relevant Mediterranean forest types will be defined (joint task with WP3 and WP4 which will provide resilience and economic assessments, respectively).

Deliverables

D2.3, D2.4

Milestones

M2.4, M2.5, M2.6