Implications of forest definition for quantifying disturbance regime characteristics in Mediterranean forests

Acil, N., Sadler, J. P., Pugh, T. A. M.

Implications of forest definition for quantifying disturbance regime characteristics in Mediterranean forests

XV World Forestry Congress, 2-6 May 2022

Year of publication 2022

Place of publication Rome, Italy ;

Pages 9p.

Author Acil, N., Sadler, J. P., Pugh, T. A. M.

Publisher FAO ;

Product type Article

Full item page

Synopsis (short abstract) 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

Language English

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