Climate scenarios suggest that current forest stands will face radically different temperature and precipitation conditions in the future. Developing future strategies for forest management in the face of uncertain and highly variable forecasts of future site conditions is a great challenge. Here we have analyzed transnational case studies dealing with different manifestations of climate change effects. We intend to stimulate the discussion on management strategies to adapt forests in the Alps to climate change risks. The presented results are derived from the INTERREG project "Management Strategies to Adapt Alpine Space Forests to Climate Change Risks" that was implemented within the framework of the European Territorial Cooperation "Alpine Space Programme" 2007-2013.

Management Strategies to Adapt Alpine Space Forests to Climate Change Risks - An Introduction to the Manfred Project.

Climate scenarios suggest that current forest stands will face radically different temperature and precipitation conditions in the future. Developing future strategies for forest management in the face of uncertain and highly variable forecasts of future site conditions is a great challenge. Here we have analyzed transnational case studies dealing with different manifestations of climate change effects. We intend to stimulate the discussion on management strategies to adapt forests in the Alps to climate change risks. The presented results are derived from the INTERREG project ""Management Strategies to Adapt Alpine Space Forests to Climate Change Risks"" that was implemented within the framework of the European Territorial Cooperation ""Alpine Space Programme"" 2007-2013.

This book presents an overview of the approaches and challenges associated with climate change risks in the Alpine region. Climate variations indicate that current forest resources will face drastically different temperature and precipitation conditions in the future. Developing prospective strategies for forest management in spite of uncertain and highly variable forecasts of future site conditions is a great challenge. Transnational case studies dealing with different manifestations of climate change effects have been analyzed in this book. It intends to encourage discussions on management strategies to adapt forests in the Alps to climate variation risks. The results have been derived from the INTERREG project "Management Strategies to Adapt Alpine Space Forests to Climate Change Risks" that was enforced within the framework of the European Territorial Cooperation "Alpine Space Programme 2007-2013."

These guidelines have been prepared to assist forest managers to better assess and respond to climate change challenges and opportunities at the forest management unit level. The actions they propose are relevant to all kinds of forest managers--such as individual forest owners, private forest enterprises, public-sector agencies, indigenous groups and community forest organizations. They are applicable in all forests types and regions and for all management objectives. This document complements a set of guidelines prepared by FAO in 2010 to support policy-makers in integrating climate change concerns into new or existing forest policies and national forests programs.

The critical role of forests in climate change mitigation and adaptation is now widely recognized. Forests contribute significantly to climate change mitigation through their carbon sink and carbon storage functions. They play an essential role in reducing vulnerabilities and enhancing adaptation of people and ecosystems to climate change and climate variability, the negative impacts of which are becoming increasingly evident in many parts of the world. In many countries climate change issues have not been fully addressed in national forest policies, forestry mitigation and adaptation needs at national level have not been thoroughly considered in national climate change strategies, and cross-sectoral dimensions of climate change impacts and response measures have not been fully appreciated. This publication seeks to provide a practical approach to the process of integrating climate change into national forest programmes. The aim is to assist senior officials in government administrations and the representatives of other stakeholders, including civil society organizations and the private sector, prepare the forest sector for the challenges and opportunities posed by climate change. This document complements a set of guidelines prepared by FAO in 2013 to support forest managers incorporate climate change considerations into forest management plans and practices.

This book reviews the most recent research on soil, vegetation, and ecosystems within forestry landscapes under the pressures of climate change. It also explores the interplay between climate change, forest ecology, and human interventions. Covering a diverse array of topics such as carbon sequestration, wildfire impacts, soil biogeochemistry, and methane emissions, the book incorporates scientific research and management strategies to provide a holistic understanding of the challenges and opportunities for forest management amidst climate change. In this book, readers will find the most up-to-date afforestation and forest management techniques for controlling greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and carbon sequestration in the forestry system. The readers of this book will gain a new perspective on forests by learning about new forestry techniques, forest vegetation change, natural and artificial disturbances, soil greenhouse gases, and soil chemistry, all while emphasizing the critical relationship between Environmental Chemistry and Forestry. Focusing on the practices of the Asia-Pacific Network for Sustainable Forest Management and Rehabilitation (APFNet) Projects, the book offers insights into practical approaches and solutions for addressing climate change within forest ecosystems and provides evidence-based recommendations for sustainable forest management and adaptation strategies. This unique volume, which includes contributions from respected scholars, emphasizes the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration in addressing the complex challenges posed by climate change in forest ecosystems. It also aims to raise awareness among forestry researchers, officials, and policymakers about the growing importance of forest ecosystems as a result of global climate change.

This volume offers a scientific assessment of the effects of climatic variability and change on forest resources in the United States. Derived from a report that provides technical input to the 2013 U.S. Global Change Research Program National Climate Assessment, the book serves as a framework for managing U.S. forest resources in the context of climate change. The authors focus on topics having the greatest potential to alter the structure and function of forest ecosystems, and therefore ecosystem services, by the end of the 21st century. Part I provides an environmental context for assessing the effects of climate change on forest resources, summarizing changes in environmental stressors, followed by state-of-science projections for future climatic conditions relevant to forest ecosystems. Part II offers a wide-ranging assessment of vulnerability of forest ecosystems and ecosystem services to climate change. The authors anticipate that altered disturbance regimes and stressors will have the biggest effects on forest ecosystems, causing long-term changes in forest conditions. Part III outlines responses to climate change, summarizing current status and trends in forest carbon, effects of carbon management, and carbon mitigation strategies. Adaptation strategies and a proposed framework for risk assessment, including case studies, provide a structured approach for projecting and responding to future changes in resource conditions and ecosystem services. Part IV describes how sustainable forest management, which guides activities on most public and private lands in the United States, can provide an overarching structure for mitigating and adapting to climate change.

Future Forests: Adaptation to Climate Change provides background on forests as natural and social systems, the current distribution and dynamics based on major biomes that set the stage for their role of forests in global systems, the nature of climate change organized by biomes, and detailed descriptions of mitigation and adaptation strategies. This book forms presents a foundational summary of the feedback between the effect of climate change on forests and the converse effects of forests on climate, leading to conclusions on how forest management needs to be dictated by climate change.The book will be ideal for readers in the fields of climate change science, forest science and conservation biology, helping them develop a thorough understanding on the broad perspective of climate change on forests, the response of forests to these changes, and other climate-forest interaction potentials. - Organizes information on climate change and the effect of/on forests at a general level before presenting biome-related specifics - Discusses the differences among major biomes (tropical, boreal, temperate) and the systems in which forest management (and hence potential mitigation and adaptation) occurs - Goes beyond simply describing problems, elaborating on potential solutions that can be implemented for climate change mitigation

Climate change is one of the greatest challenges we face - both in terms of its potential impact on our societies and the earth, and the scale of international co-operation that is needed to confront it. Emerging as a component of the international dialogue on the environment and climate, the role of forests in influencing earth systems will need to be assessed. Drawing together perspectives from researchers and policy makers, this book explores how forests will interact with the physical and natural world, and with human society as the climate changes. Also considered is how the world's forests can be managed to contribute to the mitigation of climate change and to maximize the full range of economic and non-market benefits. Providing an examination of the science, a detailed consideration of the science policy interface and the international frameworks and conventions, this book is valuable reading for all those interested in sustainable forest management, climate change and the associated environmental sciences.