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Indicator Specification
Forests and other wooded land cover approximately 182 million ha (1.82 million km2) in the EU-28 region; this area has increased by more than 4 million ha in the last 15 years. Forests and woodlands are key providers of timber, wood fuel and energy, water, food, medicines, recreation and other ecosystem services. Forests are habitats for a large fraction of biological diversity. The pervasive influence of climate on forests is obvious. Climate affects the composition, structure, growth, health and dynamics of forest ecosystems. At the same time, forests also influence local, regional and even global climate through carbon removal from the atmosphere, absorption or reflection of solar radiation (albedo), cooling through evapotranspiration, and the production of cloud-forming aerosols. Changes in temperature and the availability of water will affect the relative health and productivity of different species in complex ways, thereby influencing the range of most species and forest composition. These shifts may have severe ecological and economic consequences. Generally, European forests have been becoming older and they have been close to carbon saturation point.
Short- and long-term managing strategies are needed to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change on European forests and forestry. Strategies should focus on enhancing forest ecosystems’ resistance and resilience, and on addressing potential limits to carbon accumulation. Maintaining and restoring biodiversity in forests promotes their resilience and therefore can buffer climate change impacts. Specific strategies may include planting species that are better adapted to warm conditions and more resistant to pests and diseases, landscape planning and forest management oriented towards decreasing fuel loads in fire-prone areas, the promotion of carbon storage, the consideration of renewable energy and the introduction of payments for services from forests. Nevertheless, introduced alien species may have negative effects on the native flora, e.g. through competition with native species or by modifying the physical condition of the sites.
In April 2013, the European Commission (EC) presented the EU Adaptation Strategy Package. This package consists of the EU Strategy on adaptation to climate change (COM/2013/216 final) and a number of supporting documents. The overall aim of the EU Adaptation Strategy is to contribute to a more climate-resilient Europe.
One of the objectives of the EU Adaptation Strategy is Better informed decision-making, which will be achieved by bridging the knowledge gap and further developing the European climate adaptation platform (Climate-ADAPT) as the ‘one-stop shop’ for adaptation information in Europe. Climate-ADAPT has been developed jointly by the EC and the EEA to share knowledge on (1) observed and projected climate change and its impacts on environmental and social systems and on human health, (2) relevant research, (3) EU, transnational, national and subnational adaptation strategies and plans, and (4) adaptation case studies.
Further objectives include Promoting adaptation in key vulnerable sectors through climate-proofing EU sector policies and Promoting action by Member States. Most EU Member States have already adopted national adaptation strategies and many have also prepared action plans on climate change adaptation. The EC also supports adaptation in cities through the Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy initiative.
In September 2016, the EC presented an indicative roadmap for the evaluation of the EU Adaptation Strategy by 2018.
In November 2013, the European Parliament and the European Council adopted the 7th EU Environment Action Programme (7th EAP) to 2020, ‘Living well, within the limits of our planet’. The 7th EAP is intended to help guide EU action on environment and climate change up to and beyond 2020. It highlights that ‘Action to mitigate and adapt to climate change will increase the resilience of the Union’s economy and society, while stimulating innovation and protecting the Union’s natural resources.’ Consequently, several priority objectives of the 7th EAP refer to climate change adaptation.
No targets have been specified.
The projected change in climatic suitability for broadleaf and needleleaf trees has been simulated using species distribution models (or climate envelope models) for major tree species in Europe in order to assess what the consequences of climate change on the habitat suitability of these tree species might be.
Not applicable
No methodology references available.
Not applicable
Species distribution models (also known as habitat models, niche models or climate envelope models) suffer from a variety of limitations because species are currently not in equilibrium with climate, and because species dispersal and biotic interactions are largely ignore. Furthermore, climate change projections for Europe include climate conditions for which no analogue climate was available for the model calibration. Some models still do not include such climates, which may lead to misinterpretations of projected changes.
When documenting and modelling changes in soil, biodiversity and forest indicators, it is not always feasible to track long-term changes (signal) given the significant short-term variations (noise) that may occur (e.g. seasonal variations of soil organic carbon as a result of land management). Therefore, detected changes cannot always be causally attributed to climate change. Human activity, such as land use and management, can be more important for terrestrial ecosystem components than climate change, both for explaining past trends and for future projections.
No uncertainty has been specified
Work specified here requires to be completed within 1 year from now.
Work specified here will require more than 1 year (from now) to be completed.
For references, please go to https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/forest-growth-2 or scan the QR code.
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