Maroc - TIMBERBIZ.COM.AU - A La Une - 19/Dec 22:46

Climate change moving faster than trees can adapt

Climate change is progressing faster than tree species can adapt or migrate to regions with more suitable climates. Geographic barriers and fragmented habitats caused by land use hinder the natural spread of trees, making passive restoration efforts, those with little or no human involvement, less effective. Source: Timberbiz A new policy brief that SUPERB published in collaboration with our project partner European Forest Institute, explains how active forest restoration combined with assisted migration of more climate-adapted tree species and populations, has the long-term potential to enhance carbon sequestration significantly compared to restoration efforts without assisted migration. Assisted migration means aligning tree species and populations to the climate to which they are adapted. This measure is a significant element of the so-called “Prestoration” approach SUPERB is taking, which stands for a combination of restoration and climate change adaptation of forests. The policy brief also looks at what policymakers can do to effectively implement and potentially refine the EU Nature Restoration Regulation. The authors point out that realistic restoration targets should be set so they can be achieved despite ongoing climate change, and adaptation should also be pro-actively tackled within the Natura 2000 system. With 36 partners in 16 countries, led by the European Forest Institute and co-coordinated by Wageningen Environmental Research, SUPERB aims to restore thousands of hectares of forest landscape across Europe. To implement this, it will link practical and scientific knowledge to be synergistically transformed into action and create an enabling environment for future-oriented forest restoration, including required adaptation measures (prestoration) at different scales. You can download the policy brief here.