Inside the realm of forest resilience amid climate challenges
In our ever-evolving world, the forestry sector has to overcome various challenges, mainly related to climate and socio-economic changes. Forest decline has serious consequences: biodiversity loss, reduced carbon sequestration, increased vulnerability to natural disasters, water quality and quantity issues, as well as economic losses for forest-dependent industries. But there is room for adaptation. It requires proactive management and conservation efforts, accomplishments that the EU-funded project ASFORCLIC has successfully achieved. Coordinated by the Mendel University in Brno, Czech Republic, the project aimed to improve forestry adaptation strategies, identifying options that could be implemented by forest managers to enhance forest resilience to climate change. “The effects of changing environments on tree species are multifaceted and profound,” says Petr Cermak, ASFORCLIC project coordinator. “Understanding them is imperative for developing strategies to conserve and manage forests in the face of ongoing environmental change.”
Decoding wood properties
With the rise of temperatures and the shift of precipitation patterns, tree distributions are altered, resulting in species migrating to more suitable locations. Increased stress from heatwaves, droughts and extreme weather events makes trees more vulnerable to pests and diseases. Consequently, there are changes in growth patterns and forest composition. To investigate these various effects, researchers of ASFORCLIC focused on wood properties and applications, and explored new wood materials from lesser-known tree species that can withstand climate change. Through literature review and meticulous characterisation tests, they gained insights on chemical, structural, physical and mechanical characteristics of these new wood materials. “The team experimented with various processing techniques and treatments to enhance wood properties, paving the way for novel applications,” notes Cermak. The project strengthened the partners’ research excellence through new academic alliances and cooperation with industrial partners. The latter enabled the translation of new research findings to the sector. For instance, scientists studied variations in moisture-induced stresses of wood related to climate change. This involved using new knowledge on the elastic and plastic properties of wood in computer models of wood structures, reviewing current wood-related standards from a climate change point of view and examining mutations during wood formation, ageing and degradation. In addition, ASFORCLIC investigated chemical changes in different development steps of wood, monitoring its performance and other aspects in field tests, cutting and machining.
Linking forests to political and economic realities
Changes in forests and wood products have significant economic and political implications, shaping local economies and global governance structures. From an economic perspective, they impact the timber industry, international trade and bioeconomy, to name a few. From a political standpoint, forest changes raise debates over environmental policies, international agreements and land tenure rights. Assessing economic impacts, new forestry policies and updated management approaches was also part of the scope of ASFORCLIC. In this regard, the project fostered conversations with stakeholders and policymakers through workshops and panel discussions. “Policy expectations of forest owners are evolving, as are potentially competing demands and expectations from the wood market and the public to change forest management. Furthermore, forest owners' management techniques and intentions for forest ownership vary significantly among nations,” explains Cermak. “Keeping the flow of subsidies for distinct forest owner groups transparent helps us determine if subsidy regimes effectively reach those in need,” he adds.
Keywords
ASFORCLIC, climate change, forest resilience, forestry adaptation strategies, forest conservation, timber industry
