Insect and windstorm observation for better forest management
One of the most radical modifications climate change brings to the forest environment is the triggering of forest insect outbreaks, as these populations are affected by shifts in temperature and environmental conditions. The EU-funded CLIMPRO project investigated the effects of insect outbreaks and windstorm disturbances on the carbon cycle in forests over short and medium horizons, that being from 10 to 50 years. Its main target was to contribute to the advancement of ORCHIDEE(opens in new window), the land surface model of the Pierre Simon Laplace Institute earth system model. Calculating, among others, the carbon cycle, one of the main forest-based ecosystem services, this model is inseparably linked to forest management. The research was undertaken with the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme.
Bugs as facilitators and saboteurs
“One surprising finding from our simulation experiment was that disturbances, particularly bark beetle outbreaks, had positive feedback on forest growth over a longer time frame of 50 to 100 years,” reveals project coordinator Guillaume Marie. “This suggests that bark beetles may be seen as ‘forest workers’ in unmanaged forests, but their impact has negative economic implications for the wood industry.” ‘Bugs’ can also be inadvertently introduced when coding, and it can be time-consuming to find and resolve them. Although the team encountered these challenges, they managed to carry out preliminary simulations for continuous cover forestry(opens in new window), which produced encouraging results. However, new challenges have arisen regarding the adaptation of the tree recruitment module for a multi-strata forest canopy. The team plans to address these challenges during the HoliSoils project.
Understanding the mechanics of forest resilience
During the course of the CLIMPRO project, the researchers encountered unexpected challenges. Improving ORCHIDEE’s capability to simulate the effects of abrupt tree mortality resulting from storms and pests, as well as their biogeochemical and biophysical effects, was more demanding than anticipated. Consequently, the team deprioritised extending ORCHIDEE’s management portfolio to include continuous cover forestry and coppice(opens in new window) with standards, which received 50 % less of the workload. This was due to a delay in the development of the bark beetle module and its evaluation. “By including the insect and the windstorm factors, we gained a better understanding of the role of adaptive forest management in increasing forest resilience to disturbances,” explains Marie. “However, further testing is needed, which will be carried out in the upcoming HoliSoils and INFORMA projects.”
Enhancing forest resilience in a sustainable way
The results of CLIMPRO, which will soon be published, can have practical applications in forest management and policymaking, specifically in efforts to improve forest resilience to disruptions like insect outbreaks and windstorms. The beneficiaries of the project include forest managers, policymakers, and other stakeholders involved in forest management, as well as society at large, which benefits from the ecosystem services provided by forests, such as carbon sequestration and recreation. The project’s findings may also be relevant to the wood industry, as they provide insights into the economic implications of different forest management strategies when faced with disturbances. Furthermore, the project’s results can contribute to the accuracy of future reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change(opens in new window) (IPCC) through ORCHIDEE’s inclusion in the CMIP7(opens in new window) experiment, which can aid decision makers.
