FORCLIMIT
Mobilizing and Monitoring Climate Positive Efforts in Forests and Forestry
Forest potential in the climate policy framework remains underutilized and significantly under-mobilized. Questions about the relative uncertainty surrounding the assessment of carbon content in soils and trees have been one problem. The introduction of strategies for encouraging climate friendly efforts on the part of landowners and other users of wood-based products represents another side of the problem. And finally, how forest carbon is accounted, and thus incentivised or not, in national, regional and international frameworks, represents a third problem. We address each of these at depth. We analyze national level strategies emerging in the context of the 2015 Paris Agreement and how these incentivise the role of forests and forest-based resources in the climate policy framework. Further, we analyze national level incentive systems for encouraging carbon friendly actions on the part of forest owners and consumers of harvested wood products. With this knowledge in hand, we consider new technologies and methods for the more accurate estimation of soil and tree carbon, from the national all the way down to the landowner level. Likewise, we investigate potential mitigation scenarios at the national and local level in three case studies (Netherlands, Romania and Sweden), analyzing response curves to economic and policy incentives. Finally, we analyze how international and regional climate change mitigation strategies can be better linked to subnational incentive systems. The goal is to promote methodologies that will provide a more accurate accounting of forest carbon, and permit the greater mobilization of forests and forest-based resources in national, regional and international climate policy frameworks.
Coordinator
Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Norway
Prof. Erik Næsset
Project partners
Wageningen University, The Netherlands
U.S. Forest Service, United States of America
SLU, Sweden
Finnish Meteorological Institute, Finland
Faculty of Silviculture and Forest Engeneering, Romania
Total requested funding
1,123,000 €
Project duration
32 months
Project website and social media
http://www.forestinventory.no/forclimit/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/forclimit/about/
https://www.researchgate.net/project/FORCLIMIT-2017-2020-Mobilizing-and-Monitoring-Climate-Positive-Efforts-in-Forests-and-Forestry
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NEWS from FORCLIMIT
2020.10.30
Nederlandse boseigenaar ervaart gevolgen klimaatverandering en pleit voor steun
Uit een enquête onder meer dan 1.000 boseigenaren (respons 24%), blijkt dat 80 procent van de boseigenaren steeds meer last heeft van natuurlijke verstoringen zoals droogte, stormschade en insecten. Veel boseigenaren en -beheerders overwegen over te stappen naar andere beheertypen als hier een klimaatslimme variant voor bestaat. De huidige SNL-beheertypen lijken niet toereikend om het Nederlandse bos gezond en robuust te houden. In de enquête geven eigenaren aan zeker ook een impuls nodig te hebben voor het multifunctionele bos (incl. houtproductie), naast een al eerder toegezegde ondersteuning voor natuurbos [read pdf document].
2020.10.30
2020 stakeholder consultation about climate change & support Dutch forest owners
Out of a survey among more than 1,000 forest owners (response rate 24%), it can be concluded that 80 percent of Dutch forest owners are increasingly affected by natural disturbances like drought, storms and insect attacks. Many forest owners and – managers would prefer new management alternatives focusing on climate smart forest measures. The current public subsidies for Dutch forest management (called SNL) are not sufficient to keep the Dutch forests healthy and resilient. The forest owners ask now for extra support for multifunctional forests (including wood production), next to earlier confirmed support for nature forests [read pdf document; in Dutch].
2020.05.18
In FORCLIMIT, we develop new methods for accurate estimation of soil and tree carbon in forests, from the national to property level. We improve the modeling of soil carbon, e.g. by conducting field experiments of decomposition rates of litterfall to fill data gaps, and developed methods for local estimation for forest management units. The improved soil carbon modeling serves as input to a monitoring, verification and reporting (MRV) system, which is an essential part of carbon mitigation strategies. Using bi-temporal data collected with high spatial detail over large areas using airborne laser scanning, we detect changes in the forest that can be associated with mitigation actions. We demonstrate that carbon changes can be estimated over a 15-year period at forest stand, property, and landscape levels, with consistency in estimates across geographical levels and with associated uncertainties. The MRV system constitutes a monitoring tool for climate-smart forestry at local level.