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ArticleImplications of forest definition for quantifying disturbance regime characteristics in Mediterranean forests
XV World Forestry Congress, 2-6 May 2022
2022Also available in:
No results found.In the context of climate change and the increasing incidence of extreme events, global-scale assessments of forest disturbance regimes are needed to monitor changes, inform decision-making and adjust management and planning. But estimations of disturbance regime parameters can be strongly influenced by the criteria used for defining what constitutes a forest. Forests in Mediterranean regions are subject to increasingly higher pressure from climate change and anthropogenic factors. These pressures take the form of slow and diffuse degradation processes, such as drought-induced mortality and competition with shrubs, but also sudden stand- replacing disturbances, such as fire. Many Mediterranean forests, composed of widely spaced trees, are at the lower limit of the 10% canopy cover threshold set by the FAO for defining forests, while others are highly fragmented and mixed with a bushy matrix, qualifying them as other wooded lands. We thus expect assessments of forest disturbance regimes in the Mediterranean region to be particularly sensitive to the thresholds chosen. We assess the uncertainty linked to using different forest definitions for calculating disturbance rotation periods for the 40 ecoregions composing the Mediterranean biome. Using Google Earth Engine and remotely sensed data between 2000-2015, we apply different criteria for calculating the extent of forests and the areas disturbed within them, accounting for forest type, minimum size, canopy density and land use change. We identify the ecoregions with the disturbance rotation periods that are the most sensitive to these different definitions and compare the overall uncertainty with other major forest biomes. We conclude by discussing the importance of identifying harmonized definitions that can best support the sustainable management of Mediterranean forests, as well as opportunities for making consistent and accurate global baselines that can help improve projections of climate change impacts. Keywords: Forests, Disturbances, Remote Sensing, Planning, Climate Change ID: 3622233 -
ArticleInto the wild: disentangling non-wood terms and definitions for improved forest statistics 2019
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No results found.As scientists strive to make nature's value visible, a large portion of forests and wild biodiversity known as non-wood forest products (NWFPs) continues to remain largely invisible and unaccounted for. At the core of the problem is wide disaccord over what is a NWFP (and correlate terms), a debate which has been running in circles for nearly three decades. This paper reviews existing terms and definitions, with the aim of improving forest statistics and the visibility of NWFPs. The paper starts by (1) clarifying boundaries between agricultural and forest products, so forest products currently under agriculture can be "reclaimed"; (2) drawing on lessons from fisheries to distinguish between wild and farmed products, and associated activities; (3) moving beyond product towards activity classifications to capture gathering that may not be accounted for under crops or forest products because it takes place across landscapes and outside of these sectoral boundaries. -
DocumentThe status of invasiveness of forest tree species outside their natural habitat: a global review and discussion paper 2003
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No results found.This discussion paper presents a global review of the status of the invasiveness of forest tree species outside their natural habitat. The review covers trees and woody shrubs commonly used in commercial forestry and agroforestry. Information for the review has been collated from published databases and papers, unpublished reports and personal communications. A number of definitions of “invasive species” have been suggested in the literature, some specifically for invasive plants or woody plants . It is recommended here that, in the context of forestry, a common definition be developed that focuses on parameters of population expansion only, because in some common definitions of invasive species impacts are preconceived to be negative. On a global basis, available information on the status of forestry trees that have become invasive is patchy. The terminology used by authors is also very variable and there is frequent overlap in the terms “invasive” and “naturalized”. The evaluation of the extent of invasions by forest trees is most often very qualitative and subjective which makes overall assessments of the magnitude of the problem difficult.
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