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COST Action E27 (PROFOR)
Working Group 1
Questionnaire: selection criteria
of protected forest areas (PFA) in Europe
This questionnaire aims at gathering detailed information about selection criteria of PFA in Europe in
order to fulfil a priority task of the WG1 of the Profor COST action. Please fill in this questionnaire and
send it to Etienne Branquart ([email protected]).
Conservation and natural value of forest ecosystems
The creation of protected forest areas may fulfil two main motivations related to biodiversity: to
maximise either conservation value or natural value (i.e. naturalness). The first one aims to protect key
sites for the conservation of rare or threatened species and habitats. The second one aims to restore
natural structures and processes typical of pristine woodlands. Naturalness quest meet therefore also
scientific objectives (learning by watching nature, close to nature forestry, etc.).
A lot of rare and threatened species are to be found in woodlands characterised by a high naturalness
such as old growth forests. For instance, saproxylic species are typically linked to over-mature trees or
to large woody debris, two key structural elements often eliminated from managed forests. It means
that naturalness objectives usually fulfil conservation ones. However, the opposite is not always true.
Conservation management does not always lead to the restoration of natural landscapes: dry
grasslands, heathlands and coppice woodlands are typically distinguished by a high conservation
value (they shelter numerous red-listed species) but a low naturalness.
Questionnaire
0. General information
Country:
Responsible person:
Institute:
PORTUGAL
ANA F. ALMEIDA
INIAP – NATIONAL FOREST RESEARCH STATION
1. Number of PFA types
1A. Total number of PFA types in the country
1B. Number of PFA types (primarily ) dedicated to forest biodiversity
(conservation and scientific purposes)*
N=9
N=6
* corresponding to 1.1 to 1.3 categories of the MCPFE classification
2. Motivations
The main motivations to designate PFA matching 1B criteria could be: (1) mainly a conservation target
(should be based on species or habitat action plans and can involve active management for
conservation purposes), (2) mainly a naturalness target (restoration of dynamic natural processes), (3)
both of them, depending on individual areas within a single PFA type.
Please fill in the following table for the PFA types primarily dedicated to the conservation of forest
biodiversity (cf 1B). In the last column (prime motivation), indicate (1)-(3), according to the description
here above.
Table 1 – Main local types of PFAs primarily dedicated to the conservation of forest biodiversity
PFA
code
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
PFA local name
Integral Reserve
National Park
Natural Park
Natural Reserve
Protected Landscape
Natura 2000 Network
MCPFE
category
Prime
motivation
(1, 2 or 3)
1.1
1.2-1.3
2
1.2
2
1.3
2
3
3
3
3
3
Comments:
3. Use of scientific selection criteria
3A. Are scientific standardised criteria currently used for the selection of PFA in your country ? Yes, for
some types of PFAs, such as Natura 2000 ................................................................................................
3B. Do they prevail on pragmatic criteria (e.g. site history, owner and availability) ? At first yes, then it
has to be submitted to expert evaluation ....................................................................................................
3C. Since when are scientific criteria used for site designation ? ? ...........................................................
Comments: Most of PFAs have been established before standardised scientific criteria were used.
4. Types of selections criteria
For each of the PFA types considered in Table 1, fill in the following table. Please use the following
grading: (1) primary importance, (2) incidental importance and (3) not taken into consideration.
Criteria definition
1A/ Habitat representativity: does PFA selection process aims to contain a representative selection of all forest types
present in the country?
1B/ Threatened habitats: does PFA selection process focus on rare and threatened habitats (e.g. prioritary Natura 2000
habitats)?
1C/ Phytocoenotic integrity: does PFA selection process focus on forest sites with a representative and undisturbed
vegetation (potential natural vegetation)?
1D/ Presence of signal species: are indicator species of natural conditions (forest continuity and integrity) used for PFA
selection in your country?
1E/ Presence of red listed species: does PFA selection process focus on specific rare and threatened species (e.g.
Natura 2000 species)?
2A/ Vertical and age structure: is a complex vertical and age structure a prerequisite for PFA selection? Do all the forest
developmental phases have to be represented into individual reserves?
2B/ Natural regeneration: is the presence of large amounts of young trees and saplings another prerequisite?
2C/ Old growth stages: does the selection process focus on old-growth areas characterised by the presence of overmature trees and minimal amount of dead wood?
2D/ Soil and hyrdology integrity: does PFA selection process focus on sites with undisturbed soils and hydrology,
including water quality and drainage?
3A/ Forest cover continuity over time: does PFA selection process focus on ancient forests with a long cover continuity
over time?
3B/ Old-growth continuity over time: ditto, with a continuity in over-mature trees and dead wood within the forest.
3C/ Minimal area for PFA designation: is a minimal structural area a prerequisite for PFA selection?
3D/ PFA environment and buffer area: is PFA environment taken into account before site selection ? Has it to be
included in a larger forest areas to fulfil connectivity requirements ? Has it to be remote from roads and pollution
sources ? Etc.
3E/ Habitat diversity within PFA: does PFA selection process focus on habitat complexes made of various habitat types?
3F/ Landform and topography: are PFA concentrated in particular landforms (mountains, flood plains, etc.)?
Table 2 – Main selection criteria for PFA dedicated to biodiversity conservation
A
B
C
D
E
F
2
1
1
2
1
2
2
2
3
1
2
2
2
3
1
2
2
2
3
1
3
2
2
3
2
1
1
1
3
1
1
1
1
2
2
1
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
1
2
2
1
1
3
3
1
3
2
2
3
2
1
3
2
2
3
2
2
3
1
1
3
2
2
3
3
2
3
2
2
3
1
1
3
3
1
2
1/ Composition
1A. Habitat representativity
1B. Threatened habitats
1C. Phytocoenotic integrity
1D. Presence of signal species
1E. Presence of red listed species
2/ Structure/functioning
2A. Vertical and age structure
2B. Natural regeneration
2C. Old-growth stages
2D. Soil and hydrology integrity
3/ Landscape ecological context
3A. Forest cover continuity over time
3B. Old-growth continuity over time
3C. Minimal area for PFA designation
3D. PFA environment and buffer area
3E. Habitat diversity within individual PFA
3F. Landform and topography
G
Are there other primary scientific criteria used for site designation that have been omitted in the Table
2?
5. Quantitative assessment
For those criteria of primary importance for PFA selection ((1) in Table 2), explain hereafter how they
are assessed and which benchmarks, references and international or national standards are used. For
example, if minimal structural area is considered as a priority for the designation of some PFA type,
give some indicative value of the minimum size.
Criterion 1 =
Criterion 2 =
Criterion 3 =
Criterion 4 =
Criterion 5 =
Criterion 6 =