Where are Europe's last primary forests? Sabatini, Francesco Maria; Burrascano, Sabina; Keeton, William S. ...
Diversity & distributions,
October 2018, Volume:
24, Issue:
9/10
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Aim: Primary forests have high conservation value but are rare in Europe due to historic land use. Yet many primary forest patches remain unmapped, and it is unclear to what extent they are ...effectively protected. Our aim was to (1) compile the most comprehensive European-scale map of currently known primary forests, (2) analyse the spatial determinants characterizing their location and (3) locate areas where so far unmapped primary forests likely occur. Location: Europe. Methods: We aggregated data from a literature review, online questionnaires and 32 datasets of primary forests. We used boosted regression trees to explore which biophysical, socio-economic and forest-related variables explain the current distribution of primary forests. Finally, we predicted and mapped the relative likelihood of primary forest occurrence at a 1-km resolution across Europe. Results: Data on primary forests were frequently incomplete or inconsistent among countries. Known primary forests covered 1.4 Mha in 32 countries (0.7% of Europe's forest area). Most of these forests were protected (89%), but only 46% of them strictly. Primary forests mostly occurred in mountain and boreal areas and were unevenly distributed across countries, biogeographical regions and forest types. Unmapped primary forests likely occur in the least accessible and populated areas, where forests cover a greater share of land, but wood demand historically has been low. Main conclusions: Despite their outstanding conservation value, primary forests are rare and their current distribution is the result of centuries of land use and forest management. The conservation outlook for primary forests is uncertain as many are not strictly protected and most are small and fragmented, making them prone to extinction debt and human disturbance. Predicting where unmapped primary forests likely occur could guide conservation efforts, especially in Eastern Europe where large areas of primary forest still exist but are being lost at an alarming pace.
Aims
Primary forests are critical for forest biodiversity and provide key ecosystem services. In Europe, these forests are particularly scarce and it is unclear whether they are sufficiently ...protected. Here we aim to: (a) understand whether extant primary forests are representative of the range of naturally occurring forest types, (b) identify forest types which host enough primary forest under strict protection to meet conservation targets and (c) highlight areas where restoration is needed and feasible.
Location
Europe.
Methods
We combined a unique geodatabase of primary forests with maps of forest cover, potential natural vegetation, biogeographic regions and protected areas to quantify the proportion of extant primary forest across Europe's forest types and to identify gaps in protection. Using spatial predictions of primary forest locations to account for underreporting of primary forests, we then highlighted areas where restoration could complement protection.
Results
We found a substantial bias in primary forest distribution across forest types. Of the 54 forest types we assessed, six had no primary forest at all, and in two‐thirds of forest types, less than 1% of forest was primary. Even if generally protected, only ten forest types had more than half of their primary forests strictly protected. Protecting all documented primary forests requires expanding the protected area networks by 1,132 km2 (19,194 km2 when including also predicted primary forests). Encouragingly, large areas of non‐primary forest existed inside protected areas for most types, thus presenting restoration opportunities.
Main conclusion
Europe's primary forests are in a perilous state, as also acknowledged by EU's “Biodiversity Strategy for 2030.” Yet, there are considerable opportunities for ensuring better protection and restoring primary forest structure, composition and functioning, at least partially. We advocate integrated policy reforms that explicitly account for the irreplaceable nature of primary forests and ramp up protection and restoration efforts alike.
Primary forests, defined here as forests where the signs of human impacts, if any, are strongly blurred due to decades without forest management, are scarce in Europe and continue to disappear. ...Despite these losses, we know little about where these forests occur. Here, we present a comprehensive geodatabase and map of Europe's known primary forests. Our geodatabase harmonizes 48 different, mostly field-based datasets of primary forests, and contains 18,411 individual patches (41.1 Mha) spread across 33 countries. When available, we provide information on each patch (name, location, naturalness, extent and dominant tree species) and the surrounding landscape (biogeographical regions, protection status, potential natural vegetation, current forest extent). Using Landsat satellite-image time series (1985-2018) we checked each patch for possible disturbance events since primary forests were identified, resulting in 94% of patches free of significant disturbances in the last 30 years. Although knowledge gaps remain, ours is the most comprehensive dataset on primary forests in Europe, and will be useful for ecological studies, and conservation planning to safeguard these unique forests.
Here, from macrophylogeographic mtDNA empirical data, we propose a scenario for the evolution and speciation of two important forest trees, European black pine and Scotch pine, and their multiple ...subspecies and varieties. Molecular clock simulations revealed that
INDEL
variability in the
Pinus
mitochondrial genome is relatively old, i.e., from the Pliocene-Miocene epoch, and related to historical tectonic continental fluctuations rather than to climate change at a large geographic scale. For conservation and management biodiversity program recommendations, special attention is given to the relationships between different speciation models, historical migration patterns, and differences between peripheral and central populations. Species evolution involves the mixing of different speciation modes, and every speciation mode has different effects on different DNA types (e.g., mitochondrial vs. chloroplast vs. nuclear DNA). The misbalance between the contributions of different meta-population census sizes vs. effective population sizes to asymmetric migration patterns is the result of different genotypes (and subphylogenetic lines) responding to selection pressure and adaptive evolution. We propose initial minimal size of conservation unit (between 3 and 5 ha) from central and marginal natural area of distribution for both species in the dynamic management system for practical forest genetic diversity management. The proposed physical sizes were determined by the effective population size, effective radius of seed distribution data, forest density age dynamics, succession pattern, natural selection pressing and species biology R-17.
Dynamic conservation of forest genetic resources (FGR) means maintaining the genetic diversity of trees within an evolutionary process and allowing generation turnover in the forest. We assessed the ...network of forests areas managed for the dynamic conservation of FGR (conservation units) across Europe (33 countries). On the basis of information available in the European Information System on FGR (EUFGIS Portal), species distribution maps, and environmental stratification of the continent, we developed ecogeographic indicators, a marginality index, and demographic indicators to assess and monitor forest conservation efforts. The pan-European network has 1967 conservation units, 2737 populations of target trees, and 86 species of target trees. We detected a poor coincidence between FGR conservation and other biodiversity conservation objectives within this network. We identified 2 complementary strategies: a species-oriented strategy in which national conservation networks are specifically designed for key target species and a site-oriented strategy in which multiple-target units include so-called secondary species conserved within a few sites. The network is highly unbalanced in terms of species representation, and 7 key target species are conserved in 60% of the conservation units. We performed specific gap analyses for 11 tree species, including assessment of ecogeographic, demographic, and genetic criteria. For each species, we identified gaps, particularly in the marginal parts of their distribution range, and found multiple redundant conservation units in other areas. The Mediterranean forests and to a lesser extent the boreal forests are underrepresented. Monitoring the conservation efficiency of each unit remains challenging; however, <2% of the conserved populations seem to be at risk of extinction. On the basis of our results, we recommend combining species-oriented and site-oriented strategies. La conservación dinámica de recursos genéticos forestales (RGF) implica mantener la diversidad genética en el contexto de un proceso evolutivo y permitir el recambio generacional en el bosque. Evaluamos la red de áreas forestales manejadas para la conservación dinámica de RGF (unidades de conservación) en Europa (33 países). Con base en la información disponible en el Sistema Europeo de Información sobre RGF (Portal EUFGIS), mapas de distribución de especies y la estratificación ambiental del continente, desarrollamos indicadores ecogeográficos, un índice de marginalidad e indicadores demográficos para evaluar y monitorear esfuerzos de conservación de bosques. La red pan-europea tiene 1967 unidades de conservación, 2737 poblaciones de árboles y 86 especies de árboles. Detectamos poca coincidencia entre la conservación de RGF y otros objetivos de conservación en la red. Identificamos 2 estrategias complementarias: una estrategia enfocada en especies en la que específicamente se diseñan redes nacionales de conservación enfocadas a especies clave y una estrategia enfocada en sitios en la que unidades múltiples incluyen las llamadas especies secundarias conservadas en unos cuantos sitios. La red está muy desequilibrada en términos de la representación de especies, y 7 especies clave son conservadas en 60% de las unidades de conservación. Realizamos análisis de vacíos específicos para 11 especies de árboles, incluyendo evaluación de criterios ecogeográficos, demográficos y genéticos. Para cada especie, identificamos vacíos, particularmente en las partes marginales de su rango de distribución, y encontramos múltiples unidades de conservación redundantes en otras áreas. Los bosques Mediterráneos y en menor extensión los bosques boreales están insuficientemente representados. El monitoreo de la eficiencia de conservación de cada unidad sigue siendo un reto; sin embargo, <2% de las poblaciones conservadas parece estar en riesgo de extinción. Con base en nuestros resultados, recomendamos combinar estrategias enfocadas en especies con estrategias enfocadas en sitios.
The concept of ecosystems services used as a model for linking the functioning of forest ecosystems and producing of services to of rural communities well-being in mountain areas. Understanding this ...link is considered as a critical component for a decision-making in forest management and planning rural territories development. The forests of Ukraine provide important provisioning ecosystem services in terms of wood and non-wood forest products. The collection of non-timber forest products traditionally provides income for rural communities and recreational activities for urban population. In the article attention is given to current status of rural communities' dependence on provisioning forest ecosystem services, which are represented by collecting multiple timber and non-timber forest products. The study field data are collected through quantitative survey of households' representatives which was based on the calculation of their total budget and the share of family income from the forest. Through focus groups survey the information was collected about provisioning services which are most important for local communities (timber products, food products, other forage from the forest, etc.). In terms of non-wood forest products the most prominent are wild berries, mushrooms and birch sap. The challenges which mountain communities are facing because of their dependence on provisioning forest services are also discussed.
PDF
