May 9, 2005 1

subgroup 1. Forest ecosystems functioning and dynamics

Giuseppe Scarascia-MugnozzaJean-Marc Guehl

Frits Mohren

May 9, 2005 2

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 3

1. Resilience, disturbance and restorationThe research objectives

- Ecosystem complexity vs. ecological resilience; effects of natural vs. planted forests

- Land-use change vs. fire: impacts on biodiversity, C-sequestration, atmospheric pollution; scenario analyses and modelling of impacts on resources and societal services

- 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)

Biogenic hydrocarbons as ecological signals

May 9, 2005 4

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 5

2.Resource dynamics in a changing environment

The research objectives

- 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

EuroFACE EU Large Infrastructure

May 9, 2005 6

242pb

110pb

242pb

110pbPMGC2747

PMGC2747

ORNL_060

ORNL_060

L L

L = Ladder

3. Biodiversity dynamics and adaptive potential

The challenges

Biological diversity, from gene to species and communities, is intimately connected to forest ecosystems and landscapes:

- how will climate change impact on forest biodiversity?

- adaptive potential within and between species, how large is it? can we use it for climate change adaptation?

- will forest species/communities be shifted?

- can we assist this migration?

- equilibrium vs. transition?

- is biodiversity making ecosystems more resilient and how management is affecting biodiversity?

May 9, 2005 7

3. Biodiversity dynamics and adaptive potentialThe research objectives

- Explore and characterize adaptive diversity of forest species as a key factor to respond to global change

- Experimental approach and modelling to predict species/communities shifts

- Multiple-approach experiments combining biodiversity assessment and forest management

- Quantify how biological complexity influence ecosystem productivity and stability?

- Predicting dynamics of invasive species