Carbon smart forestry under climate change

Project Information

CARE4C

Grant agreement ID: 778322

DOI

10.3030/778322

Project closed

EC signature date 1 December 2017

Start date 1 January 2018

End date 30 June 2023

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Total cost

€ 967 500,00

EU contribution

€ 967 500,00

Coordinated by

TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITAET MUENCHEN
Germany

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - CARE4C (Carbon smart forestry under climate change)

Reporting period: 2020-01-01 to 2023-06-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Under a changing climate, forestry faces the challenge of contributing to a society with low-carbon emissions. Whilst forests sequester carbon, they simultaneously release carbon during forest operations. Our ambition is to achieve an integrated picture of carbon sinks and sources and to adapt forest management for different climate and forest management regimes. The project "Carbon smart forestry under climate change" (CARE4C) strives to develop carbon smart forest management systems for adaptation and mitigation in the view of climate change. CARE4C contributes to developing and promoting career development, enhances skills of seconded staff members and strengthens the Pan-European co-operation.
The objectives of CARE4C are to analyse, quantify and model the carbon sink resulting from forest growth, and to analyse, quantify and model the carbon source by forest operations and risks caused by biotic and abiotic factors. Overarchingly, we aim to combine the sink and source aspects into an integrated picture and holistic balance of the whole, publishing and teaching our results. Additionally, we develop a new concept of carbon smart forestry to enhance knowledge and skills at individual and organizational level.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

Work performed
A sound database for research was compiled, covering a vast range of environmental condition and forest types. Different studies based on the common platform, common protocols, and on some additional inputs were conducted to analyse carbon sequestration in the frame of climate change and management. We analysed wood anatomical traits, allometry, growth, growth partitioning and resilience of forest under different climate conditions, including extreme events.
The efficiency of forestry operations depends on several factors. The wide variability of these factors has generated the need to analyze fuel consumption and the efficiency of forestry operations according to a shared protocol, which was developed during the project. The need for attaining precise information on fuel consumption of forest machines led to implementing a new version of the existing iFOS which facilitates micro-scale analysis. Fuel consumption measurements were tested and applied through the acquisition of machine data based on a specific standard (J1939). The analysis of the carbon source by forest operations was also based on the use of Fleet Management System of forestry machines for long monitoring period.
Additionally, the use of hybrid engines in forest machines, having the advantage of a reduction of carbon emissions per unit of wood volume harvested was analysed.
To support this analysis, quantification and the modelling of forest risks under uncertain climates, a data collection of plantations of different tree species, their growth, market prices and hazard exposure was conducted. The collected data were used to develop a model for robust multi-criteria optimisation and a risk model. Both models were applied within a risk quantification and modelling study in a South African case study.
The work concerning carbon sequestration has been utilised to improve existing models that support forest management in terms of carbon smart forestry. We conceptualised a meta-model which combines aspects of carbon sequestration, carbon emission and risks.
Specific training courses have been developed and conducted to strengthen the expert- and methods-related knowledge and expertise of the involved staff members and beyond. Results were disseminated by scientific publications, conferences, and communicated to various interest groups.
Main results
We could show that climate extreme events like droughts can have an effect on wood anatomical traits, differing between mono-specific and mixed stands. In addition, several methodological improvements were achieved using wood anatomical and physiological traits to study growth reaction to climate conditions.
Studies on tree allometry indicated that tree slenderness and crown allometry are affected by tree social class and species mixing, and that this allometry is related to tree growth, modifying the relationships between tree growth and tree size. Climate change is modifying the pattern of tree growth in mountain forests, with an increasing species-specific and elevation dependent pattern during the last century. Mixing species can increase growth at high elevations and enhance growth stability due to the distribution of risk by the species-specific susceptibility to stressors. Terrestrial Laser Scanning was found to be a useful tool to estimate tree allometry, which allowed us to identify changes in crown allometry in mixed stands, highlighting potential niche complementarity. The allometry of giant and monumental trees contributed to a better understanding of their role in forest carbon stocks, particularly in unmanaged forests.
The project work culminated in a systematic review of the fuel consumption of forestry machines and the standardisation of protocols and tools for determining fuel consumption. Testing different methods for measuring fuel flow revealed some methods to be inaccurate, despite the use of the J1939 protocol being the CAN-BUS system the most suitable. The application in different forest types helped to identify the contribution of different management activities to the total carbon emissions of forest operations.
Our study presents how robust, multi-objective land-use portfolios change when considering time-preferences for ecosystem services. Our results indicated that multi-objective optimization is a valuable tool for public planners to fulfill famers' and policy makers' interests in modern land management.
74 staff members of the participating beneficiaries and partners have been seconded since the beginning of the project. 11 out 25 PhD students finalised their thesis within CARE4C. More than 60 scientific publications have been published. Three conferences were organised additional presentations were given at other occasions. The networking activity resulted in a follow-up MSCA ETN project (Skill-For.Action GA936355).

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

Using highly innovative approaches, CARE4C contributed substantially to expand transferable knowledge about climate change impacts on carbon sequestration in forests as well as about mitigation possibilities through intelligent low carbon forestry and risk reduction.
CARE4C explored carbon sequestration in forests with an unprecedented level of comprehensiveness. This was achieved through empirical studies, statistical analyses along climate and management gradients, as well as integrated modelling and scenario analyses. With these new insights, a connection between the response to drought stress on the cellular-level and forest structure at the landscape level could be made. Particularly innovative and successful is the inclusion of CO2 emissions resulting from forest management practices.
The fuel consumption and associated CO2 emissions were thoroughly examined across different logging methods in various forest types. The results clearly demonstrated that the carbon sequestration far exceeds the emissions from forestry machinery many times. The positive impact of active forest management on growth and the resulting higher carbon sequestration is therefore hardly diminished by harvesting machinery.
The project contributed intensively to capacity building, in particular concerning young scientists and created long lasting co-operations (www.care4c.eu).

Logo of CARE4C