Download Scarascia-Mugnozza - European Forest Institute

subgroup 1. Forest ecosystems
functioning and dynamics
Giuseppe Scarascia-Mugnozza
Jean-Marc Guehl
Frits Mohren
May 9, 2005
1
1. Resilience, disturbance and restoration
The challenges
-
Increasing frequency of extreme events, together
with
land-use
changes
as
the
diffusion
of
infrastructures through landscapes and major changes in
rural management (i.e. abandonment)
-
Give rise to: major disturbances with ensuing floods
and land instability (i.e. partly caused also by dramatic
reduction of glaciers), windstorms, fires, drought (i.e. the
year 2003 heat wave), pollution-driven mortality of trees
and forests, pests outbreaks, all of which are increasingly
affecting European forests
(Ciais et al., Science 2005)
May 9, 2005
2
1. Resilience, disturbance and restoration
The research objectives
-
Ecosystem complexity vs. ecological
effects of natural vs. planted forests
resilience;
-
Land-use change vs. fire: impacts on biodiversity, Csequestration,
atmospheric
pollution;
scenario
analyses and modelling of impacts on resources and
societal services
Biogenic hydrocarbons as ecological signals
-
Pests outbreaks: tree-pest interactions under changing
environment and three-trophic interactions
-
Ecological restoration: new ecologically-based concepts
and innovative methods, capitalizing on innovations from
other disciplines (i.e. plant biology, hydrogeology,
information technology)
May 9, 2005
3
2.Resource dynamics in a changing
environment
The challenges
-
The
biosphere
is
undergoing
unprecedented
environmental transformations never occurred before.
Predicting how forests will adapt, and how they and
their products can contribute to mitigate these
changes, are of paramount importance for the future of
our forest landscapes and the forest cluster
-
Combine large-scale experiments (i.e. landscape
level) with modelling
May 9, 2005
4
2.Resource dynamics in a changing
environment
The research objectives
EuroFACE EU Large Infrastructure
-
Ecosystem & landscape experiments to quantify
functional responses under multiple environmental
changes (i.e. mitigation/absorption pollutants & GHG by
natural/planted/urban forests)
-
Modelling and predicting future dynamics of
environmental
mitigation
and
resource/services
production of natural and man-made forest systems
May 9, 2005
5
3. Biodiversity dynamics and adaptive
potential
The challenges
L
L
242pb
Biological
diversity, from gene to species and communities,
is intimately connected to ORNL_060
forest ecosystems and landscapes:
-
how will climate change impact on forest biodiversity?
110pb
PMGC2747
adaptive potential within
and between species, how large is
it?
can we use it for climate change adaptation?
242pb
-
ORNL_060be shifted?
will forest species/communities
-
can we assist this migration?
-
PMGC2747
equilibrium vs. transition?
-
110pb
L = Ladder
is biodiversity making ecosystems more resilient and how
management is affecting biodiversity?
May 9, 2005
6
3. Biodiversity dynamics and adaptive potential
The research objectives
-
Explore and characterize adaptive diversity of forest
species as a key factor to respond to global change
-
Experimental approach and
species/communities shifts
-
Multiple-approach experiments combining biodiversity
assessment and forest management
-
Quantify how biological complexity
ecosystem productivity and stability?
-
Predicting dynamics of invasive species
May 9, 2005
modelling
7
to
predict
influence