Project description
Forests take front line in the fight against climate change
A forest that absorbs more carbon from the atmosphere than it releases is a carbon sink. Both trees and forest soil can store large amounts of carbon for a long time. This makes forests important to meet the 2015 Paris Agreement, which requires countries to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels, and reach the climate neutrality goal of the European Green Deal by 2050. In this context, the EU-funded OptFor-EU project will develop a decision support system that provides forest managers and other stakeholders with tailored options for optimising decarbonisation and other forest ecosystem services. It will empower forest end users to make informed decisions to enhance forest resilience and decarbonisation.
Objective
Significant reductions in anthropogenic emissions and increases in CO2 sinks are needed to meet the 1.5 centigrades threshold for global warming set out in the Paris Agreement and reach the climate-neutrality goal of the European Green Deal by 2050. The CO2 sink provided by forests, including old-growth forests, partially offsets the rise in anthropogenic CO2 emissions, providing a large-scale buffer to climate change. Depending on their characteristics and local circumstances, such as management practices or ecosystem services, forests may range from net CO2 sinks to sources. The project 'OPTimising FORest management decisions for a low-carbon, climate resilient future in Europe (OptFor-EU)' will build a Decision Support System (DSS) to provide forest managers and other relevant stakeholders with tailored options for optimising decarbonisation and other Forest Ecosystem Services (FES) across Europe. Based on exploitation of existing data sources, use of novel Essential Forest Mitigation Indicators and relationships between climate drivers, forest responses and ecosystem services, OptFor-EU has five specific objectives: (1) Provide an improved characterisation of the Forest-Climate Nexus and FES; (2) Utilise end-user focused process modelling; (3) Empower forest end-users to make informed decisions to enhance forest resilience and decarbonisation; (4) Provide a novel DSS service; and (5) Bridging different EU strategic priorities, robust science, and stakeholders in the forest and forest-based sectors. Based on a supply-demand approach, the methodology combines an iterative process of data consolidation, modelling, and co-development of solutions alongside forest managers and other practice stakeholders in all European Forest Types. The DSS will be designed and tested at 8 case study areas, to provide a ready-to-use service, near to operational (TRL7) at European level, while a user adoption and up-take plan will maximise the societal and business impact.
Fields of science
- natural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesenvironmental sciencessustainability sciences
- agricultural sciencesagriculture, forestry, and fisheriesforestrysilviculture
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesecologyecosystems
- social scienceseconomics and businesseconomicssustainable economy
- social scienceseconomics and businessbusiness and management
Keywords
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
HORIZON-RIA - HORIZON Research and Innovation ActionsCoordinator
013686 Bucuresti Sectorul 1
Romania