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Challenges and risks of transition of the Eurasian mid-latitude ecotone forests to sustainable forest management

XV World Forestry Congress, 2-6 May 2022

Copyright licence

Year of publication 2022

Place of publication Rome, Italy ;

Pages 8 p.

Author Shvidenko, A., Buksha, I., Kraxner, F., et al.

Publisher FAO ;

Category Journal article

Synopsis (short abstract) The Eurasian Mid-latitude ecotone (EMLE) is associated with the xeric belt – the transition zone between subboreal and southern forestless biomes where lack of humidity is a major limitation factor of forest growth and distribution. Current climate projections for the ecotone (from Ukraine through southern Russia, up to Pacific along the southern boundary of Russia) predict the substantial increase of the temperature and unstable but insignificant increasing of precipitation. It makes water stress a major driver of risks there. Recent studies on vulnerability of the EMLE forests show that within the above Scenarios the substantial part of the ecotone’s territory very likely will not be suitable for growth of main boreal and temperate species. By end of this century, the critical conditions of very dry steppe and semi-deserts will be typical for the current southern part of the boreal zone and forest steppe. Alteration of natural disturbances (particularly fire and outbreaks of insect and pathogens) will provide a synergetic effect with increasing temperature and climate variability. The transition to adaptive, risk resilient sustainable forest management becomes an urgent national and international task. This extreme complicated problem requires inter alia 1) understanding by societies, governments and policy makers the particularly important role of forest ecosystems in current and future wellbeing of the nations and maintaining the satisfactory environment; 2) implementation of appropriate state forest policies; 3) need of new knowledge and information, which would be able to provide early detection of negative changes in forest ecosystems; 4) intensification on integrated research on vulnerability of forests in a rapidly changing environment; and 5) development of a new paradigm, methods and tools of forest management within the ecotone. The paper outlines scientific, social and economic aspects of the problems should be elaborated and implemented.Keywords: Adaptive and ecosystem management, Climate change, Landscape managementID: 3486408

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