Ecosystem heterogeneity is key to limiting the increasing climate-driven risks to European forests

Forest mortality due to natural disasters such as fires, storms and pests has increased in Europe in recent decades and is expected to increase further due to climate change. Although important forest services such as biomass production, biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation may soon be seriously affected, impact studies and adaptation plans are still scarce. Here, we provide an assessment of the impacts of these events on European forests from 1979 to 2018 and estimate the benefits of increasing forest heterogeneity. We used a methodology consistent with the IPCC risk framework and expressed the risk of biomass loss as the product of hazard, vulnerability and exposure. The results show that promoting forest heterogeneity could reduce total biomass loss by about 18%. Our results highlight the importance of targeting adaptation measures to increase forest heterogeneity to reduce climate-related risks to European forests.

Read the article in One Earth