Towards an Integrated Consistent European LULUCF Monitoring and Policy Pathway Assessment Framework.

Project Information

PathFinder

Grant agreement ID: 101056907

DOI

10.3030/101056907

EC signature date 4 May 2022

Start date 1 September 2022

End date 31 August 2026

Funded under

• Climate, Energy and Mobility

Total cost

€ 5 788 413,25

EU contribution

€ 5 788 411,00

Coordinated by

NIBIO - NORSK INSTITUTT FOR BIOOKONOMI
Norway

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - PathFinder (Towards an Integrated Consistent European LULUCF Monitoring and Policy Pathway Assessment Framework.)

Reporting period: 2024-03-01 to 2025-08-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Precise information on the current status of forests is required to forecast forest management effects which allows informed policy decisions. To inform and support the implementation of these policy objectives, PathFinder will develop and demonstrate an innovative forest monitoring and pathway assessment system. This system, for the first time, will allow a consistent EU greenhouse gas reporting of the LULUCF sector, but, at the same time combine such monitoring capability with advanced pathway assessment to help plan the essential policy and implementation steps towards achieving the policy targets. The continuous monitoring of forests facilitates controlling of target achievement and possibly adjustment of pathways.
PathFinder goes beyond the state-of-art by the most efficient, combined use of field and remotely sensed data for high-resolution mapping and precisely estimating forest attributes. The cooperation of the largest forest monitoring organizations operating in the EU, i.e. national forest inventories (NFIs) and the network installed under ICP Forests, provides a rich data base of harmonized ground truth information which will be complemented by an innovative field survey of standardized field monitoring sites. Advanced measurement devices will provide an audiovisual digital twin including genetic properties of the monitored forest for maximum transparency and interoperability of new data. The analysis of combined databases will improve our understanding of fluxes among C pools.
The information of the monitoring system will feed into a new scenario framework that forecasts future forest and outcomes of forest management alternatives. The scenarios facilitate trade-off analysis of forest ecosystem services and are potential alleys in the pathway assessment. The pathway assessment is a co-creation activity in which novel monitoring and scenario studies are integrated with EU-level stakeholder visions and knowledge.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

PathFinder is structured in four scientific work packages (WPs).

WP1 has developed guidelines for standardized European field plots. These tools are designed to supplement National Forest Inventories (NFIs) and ICP Forests and enhance the integration of field and remote sensing data. Furthermore, guidelines for advanced plot-level measurements of forest attributes have been created. More than 250 standardized field plots have now been measured throughout Europe.
Advanced field measurements have been conducted across 25 superplots in Germany, Norway, Slovenia, Switzerland, and Spain, covering 13 of the 14 European forest categories. Moreover, more than 1.9 million NFI field observations from various European countries have been collected.

WP2 has developed the PathFinder mapping and estimation platform. This platform is aimed at generating high-resolution maps and precise estimates of forest attributes using a blend of field and remotely sensed data. Pan-European maps of volume, biomass, and species have been made. PathFinder's maps end estimates are now available through our web portal, https://portal.pathfinder-heu.eu/.

WP3 has created a comprehensive European forest management map as part of a baseline CLUMondo land system model capable of simulating future forest management dynamics. The European Forestry Dynamics Model (EFDM) has been conceptually linked to CLUMondo, and algorithms for coupling EFDM with forest state maps have been developed. The new forecasting system PixSim for forecasting 10m pixels has been developed.

WP4 has conducted an in-depth policy mapping and analysis, aimed at identifying key policy goals, objectives, and targets across various political levels (EU and national) and sectors, including forestry, timber trade, agriculture, conservation, and the environment. WP4 has made substantial progress in analyzing current national and EU network structures related to forest monitoring and reporting.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The PathFinder project has made significant advancements beyond the state of the art in various ways:
- Over 1 million harmonized European NFI observations were compiled in the PathFinder platform.
- The platform was used to produce pan-European maps in 10 m resolution for volume, biomass, biomass change and proportions of coniferous and deciduous trees.
- The platform will enable harmonized estimates across borders, offering unprecedented insights into the quantification and monitoring of European forests.
- The PathFinder platform will advance the European forest monitoring system by providing a scientifically justified and technically feasible approach.
- The project's innovative survey design of standardized field plots and advanced measurement systems promise to enhance the quality and reliability of downstream data products.
- The project's ongoing work on a combined spatial modeling framework, which includes land use, forest management, forest state, and forest disturbance modeling, promises will offer new insights into future forests based on various forest policy and demand scenarios. This can impact policy decisions and provide valuable information on management actions related to future forest climate mitigation potential, biodiversity, and other ecosystem services.
- PathFinder's policy mapping and analysis work provides a clearer comprehension of the complex policy landscape governing forest management within the EU for external stakeholders.