Mixed species forest management. Lowering risk, increasing resilience

Forests are increasingly exposed to climate-driven biotic and abiotic disturbances. Climate change could thus jeopardize forests' capacity to deliver ecosystem services. There is therefore an urgent need to adapt forest management so as to promote and improve forest resilience at different spatial and temporal scales. Mixed forests are considered as one of the main options for adapting to and reducing risks of climate change. Higher tree species diversity is expected to provide higher productivity, higher temporal stability, higher resistance and resilience to disturbances and a more diverse portfolio of ecosystem services. However, knowledge about how to design and manage mixed forests to achieve these potential benefits is still lacking. REFORM aims at identifying the most optimal composition and management of mixed forests in order to reduce natural and socio-economic impacts of climate change. REFORM is based on data from observational, experimental and modelling platforms provided by twelve partners from ten countries covering different bioclimatic regions in Europe. It will investigate mixed forest features, like species composition, mixing patterns, stand age and density, that best explain resistance and resilience to biotic and abiotic disturbances. It will define the management options to achieve and maintain these optimal mixed forest features. The impact of these management alternatives on the provision of ecosystem services will be also evaluated. REFORM will provide forest managers with practical tools for increasing resilience of mixed forests using a scenario analysis at different scales, including local-adapted silviculture guidelines, forest models, and transnational training forest networks. The project will make recommendations to forest policy makers for the promotion of resilient mixed forestry.